Help
by katiek723
Summary: Burt finds Blaine sitting at a bus stop, hair messed up, clothes ripped, and with a growing bruise on his face. It doesn't really matter whether he and Kurt end up dating, because he's pretty sure he's permanently involved in this kid's life now.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Help

**Pairing: **Pre-Kurt/Blaine, Protective!Burt

**Rating: **R

**Warning: **Dark themes, angst - will put specific warnings in each chapter

**Summary: **Burt finds Blaine sitting at a bus stop, hair messed up, clothes ripped, and with a growing bruise on his face. It doesn't really matter whether he and Kurt end up dating, because he's pretty sure he's permanently involved in this kid's life now.

**AN:** This is a fill of a prompt on the glee angst meme - ?thread=8811286#t8811286

Everything that happened in canon except for Kurt and Blaine getting together happened (i.e. Kurt went to Dalton and then moved back to McKinley).

This is the first fanfic I've ever written, and the first piece of creative writing I've attempted since school almost a decade ago, so please don't expect much.

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><p>Burt stretched his legs in front of him as he sank backwards onto the sofa, looking forward to a night alone with nothing but a cold beer and the game to distract him. Carole was on a night-shift at the hospital and Kurt and Finn had left that morning for New York. Burt loved his family with all his heart, but he had to admit, the thought of some peace and quiet was very appealing.<p>

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><p>Burt jolted awake as music started blaring from across the room. It took him a few moments to realise he had fallen asleep in front of the television, before he saw the phone on the coffee table, Kurt's if the song - something about teenagers and dreaming - was anything to go by. He laughed softly to himself; Kurt was not going to be happy about spending a whole weekend without his phone. He eased himself up from the couch and looked at the name on the phone. Blaine. He should have known; they were hardly ever off the phone to each other these days, and if he had to hear the phrase '<em>And Blaine said…'<em>one more time he was just going to scream. He briefly considered rejecting the call, but thought it would be too cruel to let Blaine think Kurt was ignoring his calls for a whole weekend. Pressing accept, he lifted the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Blaine?"

"K…Kurt? Is…Is that you?" The voice was timid and unsure, nothing like the self-assured boy he was used to.

"No Blaine, sorry, it's Burt. Kurt left his phone at home and he's gone away for the weekend."

"Oh" How could that one word, one shaky exhalation sound so dejected? "I'm sorry. I didn't…I won't…sorry, I should go" Burt looked at the 'call ended' sign that flashed onto the screen. _'Well that was odd'_ he thought to himself.

Burt really didn't know what to make of Blaine Anderson. He was certainly a polite, well-spoken boy, and Kurt had grown in confidence since meeting him, but more than once Kurt had come home sullen and clearly hurt about something or other to do with Blaine. And after that Valentine's day fiasco he'd had to sit with him all evening as he cried about being 'perpetually alone', 'ugly' and 'unlovable'. He knew his son had a penchant for melodrama, but he couldn't help but feel that this Blaine kid was not exactly doing much to put him off, probably enjoying the attention a bit too much. Maybe it would do them both good to spend some time apart.

He was shocked out of his reverie by the phone in his hand once again springing into life. 'Blaine' flashed once more on the screen. Burt gave the phone a somewhat suspicious look before taking the call.

"Blaine?"

No-answer

"Blaine, are you there?" Burt was just about to turn the phone off, assuming Blaine must have rung again by accident, when…

"Mr. Hummel? I.."

"Blaine, did you need something?"

"I'm sorry, Mr…I mean...Sir…" Burt felt an odd sensation settle in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. This wasn't like Blaine. Something was very wrong.

"Blaine, are you ok, is something the matter?"

" I think…can you…" He could here the boy's breaths get faster and harsher, sounding more and more panicked. _'Shit'_ he thought to himself, _'What the hell is going on here?'_

" Blaine, you need to calm down. Can you hear me Blaine?"

"Y..y..yes"

"Ok, you need to breath slowly, Blaine, ok? Deep breaths, in and out" He listened for a few seconds as Blaine's breathing slowly came under control, and breathed his own sigh of relief. It was short-lived.

"Mr Hummel, I need help. Please."

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: So, there it is. Very nervous about it, and would love feedback, especially constructive criticism.

I found the logistics of writing dialogue really tricky – should I put thoughts in italics, should I start a new line every time someone speaks? Would love to know if people thought it worked, or had ideas to make the dialogue sections clearer that would be great.

So, um, thanks…?


	2. Chapter 2

Burt forced himself to concentrate on driving, to stop his thoughts from running away with themselves and jumping to conclusions about what the hell he was getting himself into. He glanced at the dashboard – it was 23.45, and he was driving to one of the roughest parts of Lima to pick up a kid he barely knew. Despite his best attempts, Burt couldn't stop his mind from replaying their phone conversation over and over; the shaky, stuttering words, the hitching breath.

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><p><em>'Help? Blaine are you hurt? Do you need me to call an ambulance?<em>

_ 'No' the response was almost shouted back at him, 'No, please, I'm not hurt. I just…my car…I can't get home.'_

_Burt had his keys in his hand and his arm half into his jacket before he even knew what he was doing._

_ 'Ok, Blaine I'm going to pick you. Where are you?'_

_ 'Um…I'm not sure. I just ran, I didn't see where I was going. I'm sorry'_

_Ran? The alarm bells that were already ringing in Burt's head jumped an octave._

_ 'It's alright Blaine. What can you see? Anything that might give me an idea?'_

_ 'I…I think I'm on a high street. There…there's a bike shop, and a café next to it with a yellow awning'_

_ 'Radleigh's Bikes? Is the window covered with cardboard?'_

_ 'Yes, yes, that's it' _

'_Shit, Blaine, what the hell are you doing in that neighbourhood?' He blurted out the reprimand before he could stop himself, and could almost sense the boy on the other end of the phone flinch at his raised voice. 'I'm sorry, Blaine, I shouldn't have said that. It's fine. I'm coming to get you now. Are you somewhere safe?'_

'_I'm at the bus stop opposite the shops.'_

''_Ok, stay right where you are. I'll be there a soon as I can'_

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><p>23.53. He eased his foot down on the accelerator.<p>

Burt finally reached his turning and slowed down, peering into the dark ahead of him. At last he saw him in the distance, a tiny figure sitting hunched over with his hands wrapped tightly around himself.

As he pulled up under a street lamp and Blaine raised his head to look at him, Burt heard a soft gasp, that he distantly recognised must have been his own. With his hair messed up, clothes ripped and a growing bruise on his face, Burt could see that Blaine was barely holding himself together. _'It doesn't really matter whether he and Kurt ever end up dating'_ he thought to himself, _'I'm pretty sure I'm permanently involved in this kid's life now'. _

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Thank-you sooooooo much for all the reviews and the advice. Was really helpful. And I am beyond flattered that people have put me on their faves/alerts. _  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter. Feels a bit...stodgy? Too stuck inside their heads, which is just depressing.

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><p>Burt climbed out of his car and glanced quickly around him. He was relieved to see no-one else on the street; this wasn't the neighbourhood to step away from your unlocked vehicle, even for just a minute.<p>

He looked back to Blaine, whose head had again dropped, as if the effort of holding it up had been too great. Burt approached him slowly and reached out a hand as if to clasp his shoulder, but drew back at the last minute. He stood in silence, feeling so utterly, overwhelmingly out of his depth. Standing this close, under the harsh, orange glow of the street lamp, images kept leaping out at him in disturbing clarity; the loose threads where buttons had been ripped from his shirt, four straight scratches across his chest, a bite mark at the base of his neck, heaped with clotted blood. He couldn't help but glance down, and felt the bile rise in his throat as he took in the open trousers, the underwear bunched and rolled as if grabbed up at speed.

'Blaine' Burt whispered, desperate for a response that would guide him, give him even the slightest indication of what he should do. Blaine slowly, painfully slowly, tilted his head to look up at Burt. He opened his mouth as if he were about to respond, but no sound came out. Whether he could not find the words, or could not physically muster the strength to make them, Burt was unsure, but the desperate, pleading look in Blaine's eyes cut through the night's silence like a scream, galvanising him into action.

He crouched down, steadfastly ignoring the creaking pain in his knees, and reached his arm ever so slowly around Blaine's shoulders. He could feel the teenager stiffen at the contact, but he didn't pull away, and after a few seconds Burt felt the tension melt away and Blaine leant, almost imperceptibly, into the touch.

'Ok, we need to get to the car, Blaine. Can you stand for me?' Burt watched Blaine anxiously, unsure if he had heard what he said, was even aware of where he was anymore. Burt was just about to speak again, when he saw a steely resolution cross Blaine's face, as he took a deep breath in and began to push himself slowly off the bench, thighs and arms trembling with the effort.

Burt straightened with him until they were both standing, Blaine leaning ever so slightly into his side, taking long, deep breaths. Blaine lifted a foot to take a step forward, but his leg gave out beneath him, and Burt had to clench his arm tightly around his shoulders to keep them both from falling. Blaine let out a strangled cry that tore at Burt's heart, and before he could convince himself otherwise, Burt picked the boy up, cradling him close to his chest.

He felt his back spasm in protest at the sudden weight, and a shooting pain shot down his leg, but he pushed it aside, focused instead on the hands that were clutching at his shirt , the soft, shuddering breaths that he knew would be awful, gut-wrenching sobs if Blaine was not so exhausted. He took halting steps towards his car, very grateful that he had decided to leave the door open, and as gently as possible placed Blaine in the passenger seat.

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><p>Blaine felt himself be lowered down onto the car, and it took him a few moments to realise he still had his hands clenched tightly in Burt's shirt. He let his head roll backwards and concentrated on uncurling each heavy, leaden finger. He felt the loss almost at once. As if now, with nothing to hold onto he could no longer hold his physical form together. He could see himself, as if form above, fragmenting, torn shreds of Blaine floating away until nothing was left.<p>

But then a strong arm reached over him, pulling across the seatbelt, locking it securely in place. Blaine's hands immediately gravitated towards it of their own accord. It held him back against the seat when his body fought to curl in on itself, it held the broken pieces together, and he clung to it like a lifeline.

They sat in silence, before Burt finally spoke.

'I need to take you to the hospital, Blaine.' Blaine's head snapped towards him, eyes wide.

'No…No, please, I'm…I'm fine.'

'You are not fine, Blaine, you could barely stand' He could tell Burt was trying hard to keep his voice soft, to put him at ease, but the thought of going to hospital now, hours of waiting on hard chairs, endless questions, being examined, being touched, made him feel so desperately weary.

'I'm not hurt, I promise. I'm just tired.' He saw the skeptical look in Burt's eyes, could see the rebuff coming, and cut him off before he could start. 'I ran…that's why…I ran until I couldn't. That's why I fell. Please, I swear I'm not hurt, I'm just so tired.' He sobbed the last word and felt his body sag as his exhaustion engulfed him.

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><p>Burt sighed, pressing his palms firmly over his eyes. He knew he should take Blaine to the hospital, but as he heard the boy's last broken plea he felt his resolve crack.<p>

'Ok, kid. I'll take you home. Where do you live?' On receiving no answer, he looked over, to find Blaine, eyes closed, hands finally relaxed in his lap, asleep.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>So, in this chapter, I found I was using so many him/his/he s that it was getting confusing, but when I substituted in the names it just sounded clunky. How did it come across. Also, was the small POV change ok? Not too confusing or distracting?

Thanks again for all of the feedback, it really is appreciated. As someone with no writing experience, it is so helpful to hear people's opinions on what works and what doesn't.

And I totally get what people were saying about longer chapters - I don't want to just lump chapters together for the sake of length, but I'm hoping that as I get more confident with my writing I'll end up filling each scene out a bit more.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Wow, seriously - 42 faves and 122 alerts. I'm really glad people are enjoying this, it really does help me write more (which probably isn't such a good thing, as I'm meant to be revising, but oh well).

Again, this chapter is a bit too 'stuck in their heads' for my liking, but hopefully from the next chapter I'll try and get a bit more action in there. We'll see...

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><p>As Burt pulled into the drive way and turned off the engine he was plagued with a wave of uncertainty. <em>'I should have taken him to the hospital, of course I should have taken him to the hospital' <em>he thought to himself. _'What was I thinking? If he's hurt and I…_

'Shit shit shit' he whispered, dragging his hands roughly over his head. _'I'll take him now, just turn around and…' _But as he looked over at Blaine he knew immediately why he had decided against it in the first place, and why he couldn't do it now. Since falling asleep Blaine's breaths had become slow and even, the tension had drained from his face, so that his lips hang every so slightly parted, and his hands no longer clenched desperately at the nearest thing they could find. _'He needs this' _Burt told himself. _'If I take him to the hospital now, if he has to go through all of that right now he'll fall completely apart and God knows if he'll ever be alright again.' _

_ 'Ok', _he resolved _'Carole will be home in a few hours, I'll call and ask her to bring home some first aid supplies, and in the morning we'll take him to the hospital and call his parents'._

Blaine stirred as he was lifted from the car, and for a second that pained look began to creep back onto his face, but his head dropped back on Burt's shoulder, who sighed in relief, wishing he could stay at peace for as long as possible.

Once inside the house, he looked hesitantly at the stairs, as his back gave another twinge in protest.

'Sorry kid, but there is no way I'm making it upstairs with you' he muttered, more to himself than Blaine, and instead lay him down on the sofa. He went to Kurt's room to collect a pillow and blankets and immediately wished he hadn't. At the sight of his son's belongings, his photos stuck to the wall, all he could picture was Kurt. Kurt sitting at that bus stop, his Kurt with bruises, scratches and bite marks, 'B_ite marks for fuck's sake'_. His precious Kurt clutching at his torn clothes and looking at him with anguished eyes.

'Stop it. Just stop it' he half shouted, surprising himself with the force of his words. But shit, what was Kurt going to say when he found out. How was he even going to tell him. Should he tell him?

Burt shook his head, trying to stop his mind form running away with itself again. _'God, I'm too tired to even think straight right now. So much for a quiet evening in'_. He gave a rueful smile at that thought, although nothing could be further from funny .

He made his way back downstairs, stopping to pick up some painkillers on the way, and was reassured to see that Blaine appeared to be sleeping quite comfortably on the narrow sofa. He gently slid the pillow under his head and covered him with a blanket, then sank backwards into his armchair, ready to watch over him.

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><p>Burt heard the key turn in the door and was out of his chair and across the room before he even knew what he was doing. Carole stepped into the hallway and gave him a questioning look, about to ask why he was standing waiting for her at the door, why he had phoned to ask for first aid supplies with nothing but a promise of explanations later, but was cut off as she suddenly found herself grabbed into a fierce embrace.<p>

Burt's hands clutched at Carole's back, holding her tightly to him, and he buried his face in her neck. He needed her, needed to touch her, to smell her. He just needed her so damn much. And then he was crying, sobbing into her shoulder, laying himself open to her. He struggled hard to keep some semblance of control, all too aware of the boy sleeping across the room, and clenched his lips tightly together, his body shaking with the effort.

He hadn't cried in years, and never like this, never with such raw, all-encompassing grief. He didn't know why now, why at 4am, head groggy from painkillers that had done nothing to ease the heavy ache in his back, but he cried. And he didn't just cry for Blaine, he cried for everything he had never cried for before. For the love of his life who had been ripped from his grasp, for his son, whose tiny, delicate hand would slip into his, always when he needed it the most, and heal his heart without saying a word, his son who was tormented and beaten for having the strength to be different, and yes, for Blaine. For the broken boy who had no idea what he would face when he awoke.

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><p>Carole was taken aback when her husband all but launched himself into her arms, and could not have been more shocked when she felt his body begin to shake and his tears soak through her clothes. She had been concerned when he rang her at the hospital asking for first aid supplies, but he had reassured her that he was fine and would explain everything when she got home. Now she felt that fear again, growing exponentially as her strong, stoic husband cried in her arms. She wanted to push him away and ask, no beg him to tell her what was wrong, what had happened, but she didn't. She may not know the facts, but she knew what he needed and she dropped her bag to the floor and held him.<p>

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><p>AN:<p>

That Burt/Carole scene just would not leave my head. I don't know how in character it is for him, but the idea of it taking something like this, something completely unrelated, to make him break down about everything really got to me...


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **I changed a few sentences at the end of the last chapter (in the Burt/Carole scene) thanks to a review from_ 'Sinkwriter'_ that I agreed with 100%. To, _Sinkwriter, _thank-you so much for giving me your input, which was spot on…. I'm always receptive to people's opinions and ideas, and I think that change was a big improvement on the original. Hope you all agree.

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><p>Carole played absent-mindedly with her wedding ring as she stood in front of the sink. She looked down at the dishes with a confused frown, as if she had almost forgotten where she was, and realised with a jolt that she had been standing there for over 15 minutes without lifting a finger. With a sigh, she turned off the tap and walked back towards the living room.<p>

She felt tears fill her eyes as she looked at the two men sleeping before her. After his breakdown yesterday, she had sat on the stairs with Burt as he filled her in on everything that had happened that night. Seeing him slumped awkwardly in the armchair, grimacing in pain even as he slept, she felt a fresh wave of guilt as she remembered her rebuke _'You should have taken him straight to hospital, Burt. What were you thinking?'_ and the crestfallen look that has crossed his face at the thought that he might have done the wrong thing.

He had refused to go to bed, even though she had offered to watch over Blaine, had insisted on sitting there throughout the night in case he were to wake, finally succumbing to sleep as the sun began to rise around 7:00am.

Blaine had barely stirred all night. He lay on his front, with his head turned to the side, giving her a perfect view of the dark, purple bruise across his cheek and the dried blood at the corner of his mouth. She pushed down the wave of anger that filled her, hands clenching into tight fists by her side, and tried not to contemplate what she would do if she ever laid her hands on whoever was responsible for this.

She had only met Blaine once, but he had been all smiles and charm, with such a relaxed, easy confidence and an obvious joy for life. She wondered how long it would be before she saw that boy again, or if she ever would.

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><p>Blaine sat straight up and looked around him, struggling to get his bearings. He recognised his surroundings; the furniture, the wallpaper, it was all very familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. With a small shrug, he stood, ready to explore further, but was stopped in his tracks by a tiny sound from behind him. He paused, listening again, and, yes, there it was, a tiny whispering coming from somewhere down the corridor.<p>

He moved towards the door. The narrow hallway stretched impossibly long into the distance, steep walls looming over him. He stepped through the door and it slammed shut behind him. With an unsure look over his shoulder, Blaine started to walk.

The sound got louder as he progressed down the corridor, but somehow never seemed any closer. He picked up his pace, breaking into a slow jog, and then a run as the noise began to solidify and take from _'It's not real, it's not real, it's not real'_. He was sprinting now, panting with the effort, desperate to find the source of the voice.

He ran, and he ran, until he felt his legs start to give way beneath him, and slumped against the wall, dejected. Once again he was filled with that strange sense that he should know where he was, that the carpet beneath his feet and the heavy, patterned door handles should be familiar to him, but the answer lay just beyond his reach.

He was about to turn back when he noticed that the door opposite him was, unlike all the others he had passed, ever so slightly ajar, and he could hear those quiet whispers emanating from inside. He stepped forwards, as if drawn towards it, and eased the door open.

The room was dark, but he could just make out a small form huddled beneath a desk in the corner. He raised his hand to turn on the light switch, but was stopped as…

'No. Don't.' Blaine paused, his hand still raised in midair.

'You don't want me to turn on the light?' The small form moved, in what he took to be a shake of the head.

'If you can't see it, it doesn't exist.' Blaine felt an odd, sick feeling settle in his stomach and those words, but quickly shook it off. He crouched down to the floor and slowly approached the figure.

As he drew closer and his eyes adjusted, he could make out a mop of unruly curls and large hazel eyes peering out at him. He looked no more than 5 or 6 years old. Blaine reached out towards the boy, but he flinched back towards the wall.

'Hey, hey, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you.' But the boy remained where he was, shaking his head.

'Don't turn on the lights. It's not real if you can't see it. Please don't turn on the lights.'

Blaine stood and took a few steps into the centre of the room.

'Look, there's nothing here. There's nothing to be scared of.' But even as he said it, that feeling in his stomach returned, stronger than before, as if he didn't believe his own words. He felt a strange tug, as if he was being pulled backwards, and spun around, confused and disorientated.

'No, fight it, fight it.' The boy was shouting now, his small body shaking, tears streaming down his face. 'Don't turn on the light, don't, don't open your eyes. '

'What, my eyes? My eyes are open, I don't understand.' But the boy was passed acknowledging him now, just repeating over and over again

'Don't open your eyes, don't open your eyes, don't open your eyes.'

Blaine was starting to feel dizzy, blood rushing to his head, a loud angry buzzing filling his ears and he thought he was going to throw up. He stumbled towards the wall, leaning heavily against it, taking deep ragged breaths to try and clear his head. As he looked back to the corner of the room, he recoiled in horror.

The boy had crawled out from under the desk and was now standing in front of it. One side of his face was swollen and bruised, with blood running down from the corner of his mouth. His clothes were torn and dirty and his hands were pulling at his hair as he screamed at the top of his voice.

'NO, NO, NO. DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES. DON'T TURN ON THE LIGHT. IT'S NOT REAL. IT'S NOT REAL. PLEASE DON'T TURN ON THE LIGHT.'

Blaine was desperate to run to the boy, hold him, comfort him, but he felt that odd tugging sensation, and before he knew what he was doing he span around and slammed his hand against the light switch.

And on the couch in Hummel-Hudson house, Blaine opened his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: **Sorry about the delay, but my exams are getting closer and I know NOTHING. So updates are unlikely to be more than once a week for a while.

There wasn't so much review-love for the last chapter - was the dream sequence too confusing/odd? It was actually one of my favourites - and I promise there be more of an explanation to it later.

Also - everyone who isn't already should read 'There's All Kinds of Courage' by rholou...net/u/1270766/rholou. Similar themes, beautifully written.

**WARNINGS: **From this chapter onwards expect possible triggers for sexual assault. Nothing graphic in this chapter, just alluded to.

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><p>Blaine reached out to pick up his phone from his bedside table as he did every morning, but his hand felt nothing but empty space. He looked around, his confusion growing as he came to the conclusion that he was definitely not in his bedroom.<p>

'Wha…?' he groaned under his breath, still groggy and half-asleep. His eyes settled on the figure sleeping a few feet from him. _'Is that…is that Burt Hummel?'_

'What the h…aaargh' Blaine moved to push himself up from his make-shift bed, but dropped back down as an intense, searing pain shot down his spine and the room began to spin violently around him.

Out of nowhere he was bombarded with images, sensations and emotions that he didn't understand, didn't want to understand. _Hands clawed at his body, the pungent smell of whiskey burnt his nose and terror and helplessness engulfed him_. He gave a strangled cry and tried to block out the slideshow playing in his head, clamping his hands to his ears and curling himself into a ball, but his back spasmed in pain and suddenly he was falling backwards.

He hit the floor with a loud thud and could only gasp as waves of sheer agony coursed through his body. He tried to breathe through the pain, but it was as if a dead weight was crushing his chest and he could only manage small, choked moans as his memories finally opened up in front of him like a book.

Burt was awake the instant Blaine hit the floor. His eyes snapped open and at the sight of the trembling boy lying flat on his back with wide, terrified eyes, he was out of his chair and kneeling beside him as fast as his body would allow. He reached out a hand towards him, but paused, unsure if his touch would be welcome.

'Blaine.' His voice was low a rough and Blaine gave no indication that he had heard. Burt hesitated for a second before slowly lowering his hand onto Blaine's shoulder.

'It hurts. Please, it hurts so much. I can't…' Blaine's voice trailed off as he dissolved into tears.

'I'm calling an ambulance.' Burt turned to see Carole at the doorway, phone already in her hand. He gave a small nod, before turning back to Blaine.

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><p>Burt sat on the hard plastic chair, watching Blaine lie in silence with a blank stare and tried desperately to think of something to say to break the tension that filled the room. They both knew what was coming, what Blaine would have to face in a few minutes. With a deep sigh, he decided to broach the subject he had been avoiding since they had arrived at the hospital.<p>

'Blaine, we need to call your parents.' Blaine's eyes were suddenly wide and alert and he stared hard at Burt, looking like a cornered animal.

'No, you're not calling them.'

'Blai…'

'No' he shouted, but it came out cracked and hoarse, and to Burt he seemed even younger and more vulnerable, if that was even possible.

'Blaine, I'm sorry but they need to know. Besides the fact that you should have your parents with you right now, the hospital needs to speak to them, legally.'

'I won't give you their number.' Burt sighed, and ran a hand over his head, before moving to pick up Blaine's mobile phone from the bedside counter.

'I'll get the number from here. I'm sorry Blaine.' The look of betrayal on Blaine's face tore at his heart.

'Why won't you listen to me? Why does no-one ever listen when I say no?' And Burt couldn't even begin to find the words to respond to everything that whispered question entailed. He stood awkwardly by Blaine's bed, not wanting to leave him alone, but unsure if his presence was doing anything but harm the boy more.

A knock sounded at the door and a young female doctor entered the room. Blaine didn't look towards her but Burt didn't miss the way his body tensed. He knew what was coming now.

The doctor looked down at the file in her hands…'Blaine Anderson?' He nodded stiffly. 'My name is Dr Simmons. I need to examine you now Blaine, is that ok?' Her voice was soft and gentle and Blaine knew, just knew what was written on that paper. He'd heard them when the ambulance arrived, whispering in hushed voices about assault and….he couldn't even think the word without his stomach turning.

He didn't want to be here. Didn't want this woman to see him and touch him. He just wanted to forget it had ever happened. But the pain in his ribs was getting worse so that it hurt every time he took a breath, and even the slightest shift in position sent a jolt of electricity shooting down his leg. He nodded again. 'Thank-you, Blaine. And Mr Hummel can stay with you the whole time.'

'No. I don't want him here.' Burt looked to Blaine questioningly, but he stared resolutely ahead, refusing to meet his eyes.

'Blaine, it migh…'

'Get out, get out, GET OUT' Blaine voice rose to a scream, eye clenched tightly shut, hands in fists at his side. Burt looked towards Dr Simmons, who gave a soft shrug of her shoulders as if to say _'What can I do?'_. Burt gave one last regretful look towards Blaine, before leaving the room.

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><p>Blaine lay back and tried to let his mind drift away from his body. He wasn't in a hospital, he wasn't exposed and on display, there wasn't a stranger looking at him, taking photographs, noting things down.<p>

He was on stage, singing to a packed audience. He felt his heart soar as it did every time he sang, buoyed by the applause and adoration of the crowd. And his eyes focused on one face in particular, pale and angular, head tilted ever so slightly up. Kurt. Strong, courageous, beautiful Kurt. Blaine felt a sense of peace draw over him as he stared at Kurt, as if the past 18 hours were drifting away behind him.

'Blaine? Blaine?' He was dragged out of his daydream by a voice calling his name. He opened his eyes, and with a sickening lurch he was dragged back to reality. 'You're going to feel me touching you now, Blaine.' He tried to swallow past the lump that was wedged in his throat. 'You can ask me to stop at any point, ok?' He didn't bother nodding this time, just closed his eyes.

He tried to reconjure the image of Kurt's face, the feeling of tranquility and safety that it brought to him, but he couldn't. His mind focused with pinpoint precision on every touch. His hands fisted in the sheets beside him, desperate for some other sensation to fixate on. Oh god, why did he send Mr Hummel out? He would have given anything to feel that hand on his shoulder again, but he wasn't here and it was all his own fault. He'd just been so angry, so betrayed and had lashed out.

'_Just ask her to stop' _he told himself _'tell her to stop and get Mr Hummel.' _But he couldn't find the words and couldn't have unclenched his jaw enough to form them even if he did . Besides, this was all his own doing. He deserved this. He deserved everything that had happened. So he lay in silence and endured.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Hope you like it. (Don't suppose anyone gets what 'get out, get out, get out' is a reference from...?)


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: **If you havn't seen it yet, I wrote a short prom-based one-shot...net/s/7000051/1/In_Kingdom_of_the_Blind...I was basically just trying a knew style, different POV and would really love to know what people thought of it. I'm quite keen to improve/expand my writing, so I might do a few more one-shots as they pop into my head, and it's always nice to know if people think they work or not.

This chapter is...not my favourite, by any stretch. It just wouldn't come out right. I hope it's not too bad...as always, reviews make me super happy :D

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><p>Burt couldn't help but wonder how this had happened in such a short space of time. How had he gone from relaxing on the couch with a beer to sitting in a hospital waiting room being questioned by two police officers about the assault of a 16-year-old kid?<p>

They challenged everything he said, always pushing him for more details; 'So what exactly is your relationship with Mr. Anderson?', 'Precisely how long was it between receiving the phone call and leaving your house?', 'And why did you decide not to call the police or take him to a hospital?'.

He knew they were just doing their job, but he couldn't help but feel a little like he was a on trial himself here. He felt a wave of guilt at that thought, because if he was finding this difficult how much worse was it going to be for Blaine? He hoped to God they would be a little less heavy-handed and accusatory when they spoke to him.

They finished with their questions and were half-way out the door before Burt was on his feet, calling them back.

'Do you…I mean does he, Blaine, does he have to do this now? Today? It's just, he's so…' He trailed off, gesturing vaguely with his hands, not sure how to finish the thought. One of the officers stepped forward and her face softened in a way that gave Burt some hope.

'We realise that this is going to be difficult, and we won't make him do anything he's not comfortable with, but you have to understand that in these cases, if we want to stand any chance of catching whoever did this, we need his statement as soon as possible.'

He nodded his understanding and they left the room.

He was only alone for a few seconds, however before Carole appeared, holding Blaine's phone out towards him.

'Are they on their way?' His voice came out low and gravely. _'When did I start to sound to old?'_ he thought. She shook her head softly and his confusion must have been evident on his face, because she immediately began to explain.

'The home phone went straight to voicemail and both their mobiles were diverted to his secretary. They're out of the country on a business trip and she wouldn't give me a personal number, even when I told her it was about Blaine, that he was hurt.'

Burt didn't miss the anger that flashed through her eyes at this.

'She gave me their insurance details and said she'll pass on the message and they'll call back when they can. Who goes out of the country and doesn't leave their child a way to contact them? What the hell is wrong with these people?'

They both stood in silence, neither able to contemplate leaving Kurt or Finn alone like that, not rushing to their side the second they were hurt.

They were interrupted from their thoughts as the young doctor from before entered the room. She told them that he had two broken ribs, a sprained wrist and had needed a tetanus jab for the bite mark.

'Other than that it's just some cuts and bruises. Nothing that won't heal.' They shared a look, that said they all knew that some things would take a lot longer to heal than bruises and broken bones.

'We can't let him go home, not on his own.' Carole spoke under her breath. Her eyes met Burt's across the room and they didn't need to finish that train of thought. Blaine was staying with them, there was no question about it.

* * *

><p>'No.' The policemen exchanged a confused look.<p>

'Excuse me?'

'No, I won't give you a statement. I'm not pressing charges, so there's no need.' Blaine tried to make his voice sound strong and confident, but it came out cracked and rasping and he hated himself for it.

'Son, we realise…'

'You don't realise anything.' He snapped back at them. 'I'm not pressing charges so just get out already.' Blaine shocked himself as his voice rose to a shout. He had never been one to lose his temper, but he just felt so out of control; of the situation, of himself, of everything. It terrified him more than he wanted to admit.

He let his head fall back against the pillow and pressed the heels of his hands tightly against his eyes, hard enough that he could feel the pressure building in his head and lights danced behind his eyelids.

He was just so sick of feeling like this, so utterly lost, and it had been one morning. Just one short morning. _'Is this how I'm going to feel for the rest of my life?_' The thought hit him like a heavy weight and he couldn't hold back the choked sob that tore itself from him.

He heard a soft knock at the door.

'I'm not changing my mind, so you there's really no point trying to make me.' He looked up and felt a stab of guilt at how tired and dejected Burt looked as he walked over to him.

'That's alright, Blaine. No-one's going to make you doing anything you don't want to.' Blaine gave a short, humourless laugh and tried not to think about the things he had been made to do, and how little it had mattered if he had wanted to or not.

'But can I ask you something?' Burt sat down beside his bed, and waited for his nod of approval. 'What if it was Kurt?'

Blaine hadn't expected that, and he drew back slightly, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

'If someone did this to Kurt, hurt Kurt, would you want them to get away with it or…?'

'I'd kill them.' He spoke aloud before he had even thought it through in his mind. He didn't need to. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that if somebody had touched Kurt, laid a finger on Kurt against his will, he would find them and kill them.

He understood the point Burt was trying to make, but that was different, that was Kurt. Kurt was innocent and beautiful. He, on the hand, was just a pathetic little slut, who had brought this all on himself.

Burt watched as the emotions played out across Blaine's face. He knew he wasn't a particularly insightful kind of guy, it but it really wasn't hard to see exactly what Blaine was feeling, it was all right there on the surface. And so he saw the moment the disgust and self-hatred entered his eyes, and knew that he had to do something before the walls came up completely.

'Blaine, what happened to you, what they did to you was wrong.' Blaine started to turn his head away as his arms curled around himself protectively, and Burt knew that he was trying to shut him out.

He reached out a hand, hoping desperately that he wasn't crossing a boundary too far, and brought it to rest on Blaine's cheek, keeping his face turned towards his.

'You didn't deserve this, Blaine. Any more than Kurt would have if it had happened to him.' He kept his eyes fixed on Blaine's, trying to force the truth of his words into him. 'It wasn't your fault.'

They stayed like that for some time, neither breaking the gaze, even when Blaine's body began to shake and the tears ran down his face.

'I'm scared.' The words came out as a whisper, shaky and thick with tears.

'I know, kid.'

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><p><strong>AN; <strong>So, I feel like this story is starting to drag a bit, which I apologise for. I promise, from next chapter onwards we start to find out exactly what happened, and we finally see Kurt (sort of) so please please don't give up on me. I've actually already written most of next chapter, so hopefully it won't be too long.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **Forgot to say in last chapter, the 'get out, get out, get out' was Dawn from Buffy (god, I miss that show).

**Warnings: Non-con, serious trigger warnings**

This may be my last update for about a month – I'll try to do some before that, but exams start in under a week and go on until late June, and I really need to start doing some actual work for them.

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><p>The room was quiet and tense. Blaine tried not to focus on the two police officers, who were setting out a tape recorder and pads of paper, instead sneaking glances at Burt, whose small smiles and nods of encouragement helped to keep him bolting from the room.<p>

Finally they were ready, waiting patiently for him to tell them what had happened. He didn't even know where to begin. The events of last night were still so fresh in his mind, scenes and sensations clamouring for his attention no matter how hard he tried to force them down, but he knew he would have to go back further, tell them everything. About his own part in this, how his own stupid actions had led him here. He took a shaky breath before forcing himself to look directly at them.

'I…I met him last week.'

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><p><em>Blaine was handing over his money to the cashier when he spotted a familiar face walk through the door. <em>

'_Kurt, look, he's here again.' He nudged Kurt's side excitedly and turned in time to see him role his eyes as he collected their coffees and made his way to their usual table, without waiting for Blaine to put away his wallet. _

'_I don't know what your problem is with him, Kurt,' he said as he caught up and sat down opposite._

'_My problem, Blaine,' Blaine couldn't hide his small grin as Kurt over-enunciated his words for emphasis, 'is that he's a creepy old man.' _

_Blaine laughed lightly under his breath and shook his head. Honestly, Kurt could be so young and naïve sometimes. _

_He looked back at the man and felt his heart rate quicken as he took in how stunning he was. He let his eyes linger for a moment at the base of this throat, then slowly pulled his gaze upwards to the fine stubble, strong jaw and…_

_Oh! He was looking straight at him, one eyebrow raised and an amused expression on his face, making it clear that he had been aware of Blaine's staring the entire time. He raised his hand and gave a small wave as he mouthed 'Hi' across the room. Blaine felt his cheeks flush with colour and he quickly ducked his head and turned back to Kurt._

'_Oh my god, Kurt, how long was he watching me? Why didn't you say something?'_

'_Because he's a perverted old…Oh for God's sake, really?' He's coming over. Well thank-you very much, Blaine.' Blaine's eyes shot wide open._

'_What? He's…Oh my god, I look a mess.' He started desperately smoothing down his already immaculate clothes and straightening his perfectly cantered tie. _

_Kurt couldn't help but smile as he watched, thinking how adorable Blaine was when he was flustered, but it fell abruptly when he remembered exactly why Blaine was flustered, and that it wasn't for him. _

_As the man drew nearer to their table, Kurt fixed his best 'Head Bitch In Charge' expression in place and turned towards him._

'_Hi there. I thought I should finally introduce myself. May I?' The man, who close-up appeared to be in his early 30s, gestured towards the empty chair at their table._

'_Well actually, we were…'_

'_Yes.' Blaine cut in, with a pointed look towards Kurt. 'That'd be…I mean…um…yes.' He looked down, blushing again as the man laughed at his fumbling words. He sat down and held out a hand towards Blaine._

'_Thank you…' he paused for a moment, before Blaine realised what he was waiting for._

'_Oh, Blaine, I'm Blaine' he said. He smiled shyly as the man's hand closed over his, and held on for just a moment longer than expected._

'_Well thank you, Blaine. I'm James.' He let his thumb sweep lightly over the back of Blaine's hand before releasing it and turning to hold his hand to Kurt. Kurt looked at it with barely concealed disdain, before answering in clipped tones._

'_Kurt.' He did not shake his hand. _

'_Well nice to meet you too, Kurt. Blaine, I see you go to Dalton. That's in Westerville, right?'_

_About 10 minutes passed, Kurt making over-dramatic sounds of boredom and impatience, as James directed his conversation almost entirely to Blaine. He couldn't believe the smarmy things that James was coming out with, but worst of all was Blaine's reaction; laughing, blushing, biting nervously at his lower lip. _

_Kurt felt a stab of guilt that he wasn't supporting his friend, that he wasn't happy that he was happy, but he just did not like this guy and, although he hated to admit it, he was desperately jealous. But if this was the kind of guy that Blaine liked he never really stood a chance, did he? _

_He couldn't hold back a snort of derision as James made a particularly cheesy comment, and was slightly taken aback at the angry look Blaine shot his way. _

'_I think it's probably time I was leaving.' James said, looking at Blaine apologetically as he pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. 'It was very nice to meet you both.' _

_Both boys watched in silence as he walked out of the coffee shop._

'_Blaine, I…'_

'_You know what, don't even bother, Kurt.' Blaine interrupted angrily, pulling on his coat and scarf and storming off without a backward glance. _

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><p>Blaine looked down at his hands, not wanting to see the looks on everyone's faces. He knew what they must be thinking, that we was just some stupid slut, flirting with a stranger almost twice his age, that he'd deserved everything he got. He forced himself to carry on with his story before his courage left him completely.<p>

'I didn't answer Kurt's calls, texted him that I didn't want to go for coffee and went on my own instead. James was there every day that week, and he came over and sat with me. I thought…' Blaine could feel the tears filling his eyes, and tried to blink them away. 'He was so nice and I…I just…'

His voice trailed off as the tears finally spilled over onto his cheeks. He startled as he felt a rough hand clasp his shoulder, but when he looked up to see Burt Hummel looking back at him, without a trace of the anger or disgust he had expected, he felt himself relax into the touch. He focused on the steady pressure and warmth on his shoulder as he continued.

'On Thursday he asked if I'd like to go to dinner. He said I shouldn't tell Kurt, that he was jealous and would try and ruin it for us.'

Burt fought to keep his anger under control. He knew that it wasn't what Blaine needed right now, but it wasn't easy. This disgusting disgrace of a man had targeted Blaine, a 16-year-old boy, befriended him, made him trust him and…He wanted to throw his chair across the room, punch a wall, anything.

'Can you describe what James looked like, Blaine?' The policewoman's voice cut across the room, loud and sharp, a stark contrast to Blaine's halting whisper.

'Tall, um, over 6 foot, I think. Pale brown hair, short and straight, and, um, he was always wearing a suit, like he worked in an office.'

Blaine tried not to picture him in his mind as he spoke, but it was as if his words were bringing him to life, and he stood, looming over him in perfect detail. He couldn't stop the shivers that ran through his body and he shrank back against the bed.

He picked at a loose thread on the bandage wrapped around his arm, but his hands were trembling too much and he jarred his sprained wrist painfully.

'Blaine, do you need to take a break? We can carry on later.' The policewoman looked at him softly, and he hated the pity he saw in her eyes.

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and shook his head.

'N…No. I need to…I'm fine,' he insisted.

'Ok. Can you tell us what happened last night?'

'He took me to a resaturant, um, Castilliano's.' He felt sick as he remembered how excited he had been the whole day to be going on his first real date. He had desperately wanted to ring Kurt, to get his opinion on how he was dressed, but had stopped himself, remembering James's warning.

'He bought a bottle of wine and…I guess…I don't know… he must have been filling up my glass the whole time. I didn't realise, but when I stood up to leave, my head felt so fuzzy and I could barely keep my balance. He…he put his arm round me, laughed, said he'd drive me home. My head was spinning and I didn't pay attention to where he was taking me. Had no idea we weren't going the right way until he stopped the car and I didn't know where we were.'

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><p><em>Blaine opened his eyes and looked around in confusion at the unfamiliar surroundings.<em>

'_Wha..? Whearwe?'His voice was low and his words slurred into one another. _

_He didn't understand what was happening and his head was beginning to pound with the effort of thinking. There was an expanse of tarmac all around, one or two cars scattered in the distance, but it was too dark to make out anything else. _

'_Wasapning?' He looked towards James and tried to ask what was happening, but his body wouldn't follow his instructions. _

_He let his eyes drift shut and his head fall back against the seat. He heard a soft click and when he opened his eyes again, James was suddenly right in front of his face, staring straight at him in a way that made his body hum in nervous anticipation._

_James brought a hand up to cup his face, stroking gently over his cheekbone with his thumb._

_'You are so beautiful. Do you know that?' He whispered deeply, so close now that Blaine could feel his breath ghost across his face. He swallowed thickly, unsure of how to respond. _

_And then lips were touching his, and the hand moved up to tangle in his hair. He gasped at the sensation, the gentle tingling in his lips, the faint taste of whisky on the tongue that slid over his._

_Nervousness and excitement clamoured for dominance; this felt good, it felt so good, but his head was still pounding, and the hand on his knee was gripping tightly, pushing roughly up his leg and it was all becoming so overwhelming._

_He tried to pull backwards, to take a breath, but James followed, pressing forwards so that he lying awkwardly against the seat and the door._

_The lips left his, to trail hot kisses along his jaw and the hand was at his waist now, pulling at his shirt. As he felt it brush against his bare skin he gasped and his body bucked upwards. He heard James groan against his ear and he tightened his grip in Blaine's hair._

_'So fucking hot. God. I've been watching you for so long, waiting for this.'_

_Both hands were moving over his body now, gripping at his sides, nails raking down his chest. Blaine let at a small cry as they pinched sharply at his nipples and brought up his hands to push James away from him._

_'Sto..Stop. That hurt.' Blaine tried to manoeuvre himself into a sitting position, but James was back on top of him, mouth crushed against his, biting at his lips. He pressed forward hard with his hips and Blaine could feel his erection pressed painfully into his thigh. _

_He couldn't breath under the weight and he suddenly felt an ice-cold fear cut through the fog that was clouding his head. He'd said stop, why hadn't he stopped? _

_But James was beyond listening now, rutting against him, grunting in his ear. He ripped open Blaine's shirt and the rush of cold air was enough to shock Blaine into action. He pushed hard and scrambled to a sitting position against the door. _

'_Please. That's too much.' He felt vulnerable and exposed and tried to cover himself with his torn shirt. 'I want to go home.'_

_James sat back in his seat, breathing heavily, and Blaine let himself sigh in relief. It was ok, he had just got carried away. But then James was looking at him again. He was laughing, but the steely glint in his eye held Blaine paralysed in fear._

'_You want to go home? You're a fucking tease, that's what you are.' Blaine tried to shake his head in denial, but the action sent the surroundings spinning around him._

'_You've been asking for this, begging for this all week. Leading me on, letting me buy you coffees and dinner, what did you think was going to happen?'_

_Blaine felt hot tears sting his eyes. He hadn't...had he? He hadn't meant to, but he felt a sick feeling coil in his stomach. He had been flirting, he knew he had, what had he expected from it?_

'_I…I'm sorry…I….' He saw James raise his arm, but couldn't make his body move, and the back of his hand crashed against his face. His head snapped sideways and with his balance already gone, the momentum threw him off the seat and onto the floor. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, and then James was on top of him again, fists crashing into his ribs and back over and over. _

_Blaine's hand was trapped at an awkward angle beneath him, and the weight of two bodies pressing down on it was agony. He tried to get away, but James was too heavy, and every time he tried to push him off it put more pressure on his wrist until it felt like it would snap._

_Blaine was crying now, sobbing into the dirty floor of the car as he tried to blot out the words being whispered into his ear._

'_You asked for this, you little slut. This is what you get for being such a fucking cock-tease.'_

_He tried to turn his head away, but it was pressed into the floor, the carpet rough against his cheek, as James ground his hips hard against him._

'_God, you were made for this, such a perfect little whore.' He bit down hard on his neck, and the pain gave Blaine a sudden burst of adrenaline. He thrust his body up, freeing his arm from under him and jabbed his elbow hard into James's stomach. _

_He heard him grunt at the impact and scrambled forwards away from him. He dragged himself up and grabbed at the door-handle, but his hands were clumsy and uncoordinated. _

_When he felt the door give way Blaine cried out in relief, but suddenly a hand was grabbing at his hair and his head was smashed hard into the door. Pain exploded across his cheek and felt his vision blurring as darkness engulfed him. _

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><p>'You were knocked unconscious?'<p>

Blaine started, as if suddenly remembering there were other people in the room, before nodding slowly.

'I don't know how long for. A few minutes, at least. When I woke up I…he...he was…he was ra…' The word caught in his throat. He couldn't say it. Couldn't give it a name, make it real.

Burt was crying now too, tears running freely down his face. He wondered how the policemen sat there with steely professionalism, without a trace of emotion. He supposed they had heard this before, heard worse even, although he couldn't imagine how anything could be.

'Blaine, what was he doing?' Burt growled low in his throat at the question, how could she be so insensitive? They knew what he meant.

'I'm sorry, but we need to know, Blaine. We need to know exactly what happened'

Blaine tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, but it was no use. He looked at Burt, shaking his head, trying to communicate that he couldn't do it, couldn't say it.

Burt didn't know what to do. Blaine's whole body was trembling and shaking and was looking at him, pleading with him, but he didn't know how to make this easier, how to make it better. Finally, he turned to the policemen.

'I'm sorry, this is too much. You can finish later. He's been through enough.'

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><p><strong>NB: <strong>I never actually intended to write that scene in that much detail, but it just kind of happened. Towards the end of this my hands were shaking so much I couldn't type. Chances of me getting any more revision done today…? Not looking hopeful. I need to go find some fluff to read.

I'd love to know people's opinions on this - did it work, swapping in between past and present? I was really trying to get across how naive Blaine was, how he really had no idea what was going on until it was too late.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hey guys, I'm back :D Hope you all havn't got bored and left me while I've been away. But exams are all over now and I have nothing to do for weeks, so hopefully lots of updates.**

**A few things first...**

**I'm thinking of changing the name of the story...is that a terrible idea? I only picked 'Help' because I hadn't thought about a title at all until I uploaded it and just wanted to publish it as quickly as possible. I don't even know if it's possible to change the title on , but if it is, I thought I would leave it in brackets for a few chapters so people realise it's the same story.**

**If anyone has any ideas for good titles, I would love to hear them, I'm rubbish at coming up with them. **

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><p>Burt looked back at Blaine in his rear view mirror. He hadn't said a word since leaving the hospital, just sat with his head resting against the window, cradling his injured arm against his body and staring aimlessly at the passing scenery.<p>

He cleared his throat a few times as if he was about to speak, although he honestly couldn't have told you what he was planning to say, but was interrupted as Blaine's voice drifted forwards, quiet, almost under his breath, as if he hadn't meant to speak aloud at all.

'You don't have to do this. I'd be fine at home.' Burt's eyes met Carole's and she shook her head sadly before turning around in her seat to face Blaine.

'Blaine, honey, we are not leaving you alone right now.' She tried to catch his eyes, but he stayed staring out the window. He was silent for a few moments, and then continued as if he hadn't heard her at all.

'They might not ring back today. They usually take a few days to answer.'

Blaine finally pushed himself away from the window but kept his arms wrapped tightly around his body and his eyes looking down.

'Would you like us to call their secretary again, let them know that you want them home?' His eyes darted to Carole's face, wide and afraid.

'No, no, I don't…that's not what I meant. Don't call them, please. I just thought…You just might not want to put up with me for that long.' Blaine's voice trailed off and he seemed to physically fold in on himself.

Burt felt his heart sink at how little Blaine clearly thought of himself and how long and hard an uphill struggle it was going to be to help set him back on his feet.

'No-one is putting up with you, Blaine.' Burt said, 'You are always welcome at our house. Any time, for however long.' When it was clear Blaine wasn't going to respond, Burt reluctantly dragged his eyes back to the road.

After a few moments, Blaine once again broke the silence. It occurred to Burt that perhaps he needed those seconds, that space with no-one looking at him, no-one expecting anything from him to gather himself, build his courage. The fact that he needed such courage to do something as simple and natural as speaking broke his heart, but at least he felt safe enough to do so at all, he thought.

'They'll be angry.' Burt wasn't sure exactly what Blaine meant, but he stayed quiet, giving Blaine the time he needed to find his voice.

'My parents. They'll be angry.'

'We're all angry at what he did, Bl…'

'No. At me. They'll be angry at me.' Burt's stomach clenched at the certainty in Blaine's voice, the resignation.

'Blaine, what could they possibly have to be angry with you for? None of this was your fault.'

'I flirted with him. I went on a date with him.' Blaine spat out the words as if their taste on his tongue disgusted him and tears filled Carole's eyes at the venom Blaine directed towards himself.

'You didn't know what he would do, Blaine. You couldn't have known.' She pleaded with him to believe her.

'I knew he was a man, didn't I? That's bad enough in their eyes.'

Neither Burt nor Carole knew what to say, how to start dealing with that on top of everything else that had happened, was still happening. They drove the rest of the way home in silence.

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><p>When they arrived home Blaine stood awkwardly in the living room, not sure what was expected from him, playing nervously with the cuffs of his jumper. He was wearing an old tracksuit of Finn's that Carole had grabbed before they left for the hospital. The clothes swamped him, and for some reason he felt safer hidden beneath them.<p>

Burt looked at Blaine and couldn't help but think how young he looked, with his hands hidden beneath his sleeves, the ends of his trouser-legs pooled at his feet and his eyes wide and unsure. He looked so small and vulnerable, he could probably pass for 13, and that thought sent a new wave of revulsion through him at what had been done to him.

'Would you like something to eat, Blaine?' He asked.

Blaine suddenly realised how ravenous he was. It was well past lunch and his stomach was clenching with hunger, but the thought of sitting down at a table with Burt and Carole, having to make conversation, having to act human when he felt anything but, made him feel physically sick.

'I think I'd like to lie down, please. I'm tired.'

'Of course. It's probably best if you take Kurt's room for now.' Burt said. 'I'd hate to think what you might come across in Finn's.'

Blaine followed Burt up to Kurt's bedroom and sat perched on the edge of the bed looking down at his hands, uncomfortable under the older man's gaze.

'Do you need anything, or…?' Burt started to ask.

'No, thank-you.'

'Ok, well, we're right downstairs if you do.' Blaine nodded his head and Burt left the room, closing the door behind him. Blaine stayed where he was on the end of the bed. He could hear Burt breathing on the other side of the door, see the outline of his shoes in the small gap at the floor.

After a few moments, when he heard Burt's footsteps fade away, Blaine stood, closed the curtains and turned off the light before sitting back down on the bed, with his back pressed against the headboard and his knees curled tightly into his chest.

He wanted to believe the things Burt and Carole had said to him, he really did, but he was bombarded by the voices of others, degrading him and tearing him down. Those voices had been there so long, were so loud and incessant, so thoroughly drilled into him that he couldn't push them aside.

_'You're disgusting.' 'It's a perversion.' 'Just one big disappointment.'_

And now they were joined by another voice, hot and heavy in his ear, sickening and shameful.

_'Beautiful little whore.' 'Giving you what you deserve.' 'You like this, don't you?'_

Blaine clamped his hands over his ears and pressed his face into his knees. He tried to cling to Burt and Carole's words, repeating them over and over in an attempt to drown the voices out, but hard as he tried, he felt them slip away into nothingness as memories engulfed him.

* * *

><p>Burt stood outside Kurt's bedroom. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but just didn't like the thought of leaving Blaine alone. Since giving his statement he had withdrawn more and more, and the thought of him scared and alone, trapped within his memories tore at Burt. But what could he do? Blaine had asked to be alone and he had to respect his wishes.<p>

Reluctantly he dragged himself away and made his way downstairs, where Carole was laying sandwiches on the table. He looked over to her and without words they both gravitated towards each other, to a comforting embrace. He could feel her tears on his chest, their roles from last night reversed.

They sat in silence, neither stomaching more than a few bites of food.

'He was date-raped.' Burt suddenly blurted out. He didn't know if Carole even wanted to know the details, but he needed to get it out. 'By some man in his 30s.' He didn't even try to keep the disgust out of his voice.

'He met him at some coffee shop. He fucking groomed him, Carole.' He brought his fist down hard onto the table, and the cutlery and plates clattered under the force.

'Kurt was there. Oh god, what if he'd hurt Kurt?' Burt brought his hands to his face. 'Does that make me an awful person? That I'm glad he didn't choose Kurt? Jesus. Blaine's up there falling to pieces and I'm glad it happened to him.'

'You're not glad it happened, Burt.' Carole took his hands in hers across the table. 'Of course you're happy Kurt is safe, any parent would be. We just have to be there for Blaine now. From what he said about his parents, I think he's going to need us to be.'

She ran a frustrated hand through her hair before bringing it back to Burt's.

'They clearly haven't been accepting of his sexuality, but do you really think they'll blame him for this?' Carole questioned. 'I can't imagine anyone being that heartless, especially to their own child.'

Burt shrugged his shoulders.

'Who knows?' He sighed. 'That fact they don't even care enough to call back when he's been hurt doesn't exactly fill me with hope.'

'What d we do if Kurt and Finn call?' Carole suddenly asked, as if the thought had just occurred to her.

'God, I hadn't even thought?' Burt replied. 'It's not our place to tell, we can't break Blaine's trust like that, but Kurt is going to know something's wrong, even over the phone, he always does.'

'I guess we'll have to ask Blaine. Maybe if we just tell them he's staying with us because he got hurt and his parents are out of town?'

'You know Kurt's not going to accept that.' Burt shook his head. 'The second he hears Blaine's hurt he's going to be on the next plane home.' _'Like his parents should be' _he thought bitterly.

'I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.' Carole stood and began to clear away their barely touched plates of food.

* * *

><p>It was many hours later, nearly 8pm, when Blaine still hadn't emerged from Kurt's room, that Burt decided to check on him. He really didn't know much about these things, but he was sure that hiding away on his own wasn't a healthy way for Blaine to be handling this.<p>

He knocked softly on the door and nudged it open a crack. At first he thought Blaine was asleep; the lights were off and the room was quiet, but as his eyes adjusted to the dark he saw that Blaine was sitting huddled at the corner of the bed with his head on his knees, shaking.

'Oh, Blaine.' He exhaled, desperately saddened by the sight before him. He turned on the light, but was immediately met with a cry from Blaine.

'No, no. Turn it off, please turn it off.'

'Ok, Blaine, it's ok.' Burt switched the light back off and stood at the corner of the room, waiting for Blaine to relax back against the headboard before he approached the bed.

'Is it ok if I sit down, Blaine?' Burt stayed a few feet away from the bed, making it clear that Blaine had the choice. After a few seconds he nodded his head.

'When I was little I used to get really scared of the dark.' Blaine started speaking suddenly. Burt wasn't sure why he was sharing this with him now, but he had a feeling that it was immensely important that he do nothing more than let Blaine talk and listen.

'I thought there would be monsters waiting.' Blaine continued, looking straight ahead as if Burt was not there. 'And my mum told me that it was ok, because if I couldn't see them, then they didn't exist. If I kept the light off, and closed my eyes then I could go to sleep because there were no monsters.'

Burt could understand why this old memory would occur to Blaine now. Now that he had new monsters to deal with.

'We used to have this thing at school where every Friday we would all bring in a toy and swap with someone else...

_Blaine sat cross-legged in the front room.. The television was on, but he was far too preoccupied to pay any attention. He held his new toy gently in one hand, as if he were afraid he might break it, and carefully and meticulously brushed her long hair with the tiny plastic comb._

_He had wanted a doll ever since he had seen them in the toy store, but his mother had hurriedly rushed him past with a flustered look around her when he had asked for one. He looked up with an excited grin as he heard his father enter the room, ready to show off his toy and how beautiful he had made her look._

'_What is that?' His father practically growled at him._

'_It's a Barbie, daddy.' Blaine answered with a wide grin. _

'_Yes, I know what it is. But why have you got it?'_

'_I swapped with Cassie. Isn't she pretty? She comes with all of these things.' He spread his hands over the array of miniature clothes and accessories that lay around him, showing them off excitedly to his father. 'And you can change her clothes and…'_

_Blaine was shocked out of his babbling as his father wrenched the doll from his hand and angrily threw it into the bin. _

'_You do not play with dolls, do you hear me?' Blaine sat open mouthed. Why was his dad angry? 'Dolls are for girls. I will not have my son playing with girl's toys like some kind of… urgh.'  
><em>

_The next thing he knew Blaine was yanked to his feet by a strong hand around his wrist and dragged towards the stairs._

'_Daddy, you're hurting me,' he cried out, so confused. But his father paid no attention, pulling him up the stairs at such a rate that his little legs tripped and stumbled and he grazed his knee on the rough carpet. _

'_Please, Daddy. I won't play with dolls again, I promise.' _

_The next thing he knew, he was pushed into his bedroom and the door was slammed shut behind him. No further explanation was given. _

_He stood in his bedroom, trembling, crying. He didn't understand, didn't know what he had done, but he had a strange sense that it wasn't just something he had done that had angered his father. It was more than that. It was him, something he was that he didn't like, that was wrong. He could feel this unknown thing looming over him like a spectre. _

'_I'm sorry, Daddy' he whispered into the empty room. 'I'll be better, I'll be different, I promise.'_

_He thought then of his mother's words, that if you couldn't see the monsters then they didn't exist. He reached up onto the tips of his toes, stretching his arm as far as it would reach until he felt the light switch click beneath his fingers._

_He wanted to curl up in his bed and go to sleep, but he couldn't. He had been bad, he had made his Daddy not like him, he didn't deserve his bed. So he tucked himself into a little ball under his desk, and waited for the monsters to disappear._

Burt sat opposite him, tears evident in his eyes. Blaine wanted so badly to reach across, to cling to Burt, but the distance between them felt like a cavern that he could never cross.

'They hate me. They hate me and they hate what I am.' He whispered into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I really don't know why I keep heaping the pain on top of Blaine. Is this too much?<strong>

**Anyways, I hope this wasn't a disappointment after the break. Reviews and constructive criticism always welcome :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Soooo, guess what…I passed, I'm a doctor. How weird is that?**

**This was supposed to be a comfort/fluffy part…you'll see how well that turned out. Angst just follows me everywhere I go.**

* * *

><p>For the second time in as many nights, Burt found himself watching over Blaine as he slept. He felt desperately tired and emotionally drained, his body stiff and aching from hours spent hunched in uncomfortable chairs, but nothing could have dragged him from his seat. He felt responsible for Blaine in a way he couldn't quite explain.<p>

At Blaine's broken whisper, _'They hate me.'_, Burt had reached across and grasped his trembling hands firmly in his own.

'Well, they're wrong, Blaine, they're just wrong.' Blaine shook his head in denial and Burt felt such anger towards these people that had destroyed his sense of self worth, he thought it might explode through his chest. He grabbed Blaine's shoulders, probably harder than he should have, and turned him around so they were eye to eye.

'You listen to me, Blaine. There is nothing wrong with you.' Blaine screwed his eyes tightly shut. He couldn't accept it, couldn't trust these words that contradicted everything he had ever been told about himself, that he truly believed about himself.

'Look at me.' Another shake of the head. 'You can, Blaine, you can.' Blaine forced himself to look at the older man and was struck by the intensity he saw there.

'You are a good person, Blaine, a good man,' Burt insisted. 'You helped Kurt when I couldn't. You went out of your way to be there for him, and he's changed so much, grown so much just through knowing you.'

Burt saw the immediate flicker of emotion in Blaine's eyes at the mention of Kurt and wondered how it had taken this awful turn of events to make him see how important this boy was to his son. Had it only been yesterday that he was questioning Blaine's intentions, grateful that they would be forced to spend some time apart?

'I will never be able to thank you enough for what you've done for him.'

'Why? I just don't understand why.' Blaine whispered. 'Why me?'

'I don't know, kid, I really don't. Horrible people have done horrible things to you, but that doesn't say anything about you, doesn't change who you are. If anything, it just shows how strong and brave you are that you're still here despite it all.'

'I just…I tried so hard to be what they wanted.'

'James is a disgusting, awful man for what he did to you. And your parents…I'm sorry to be rude but your parents are fools. I would have been honoured to call you my son.'

Burt felt Blaine's shoulders start to shake beneath his hands, saw his jaw clench in an effort to keep his composure.

'You can let go, Blaine. I'm here.' And with that, all the tension seemed to leave Blaine's body in one go, and he collapsed against Burt and cried.

He soon fell into an exhausted sleep, his body overcome by lack of food and the effort of healing itself, but his mind could not switch off so easily. He let out soft gasps of fear and pain in his sleep, his face grimacing and hands clutching at the bed sheets. Many times throughout the night he jerked violently, eyes snapping open, tears formed during sleep spilling freely down his face.

But for the first time in his life, Blaine Anderson didn't wake to face the darkness alone. For the first time in his life he learnt that a strong hand could be gentle too, could be used to comfort and soothe instead of torment and destroy.

He would not remember these fleeting moments in the light of morning, would not remember Burt Hummel stroking his hair from his face, holding his hand and telling him he was safe, but he would remember the feeling. He would remember that he wasn't alone. And he would have a new voice in his head to stand against the others; _'I'm here.'._

* * *

><p>When Blaine woke to find Burt asleep in a chair next to him, his hand still lightly holding his, he felt such a rush of warmth course through it made him light-headed. That this man, who he barely knew, would care enough to sit with him through the night floored him. He had never thought anyone would be there for him in that way. Until now he hadn't known how much he'd needed it. Over the years he had gotten used to looking after himself, getting by on his own, learning not to expect anything from anyone because it always ended in heartbreak and disappointment.<p>

His phone showed it was only 6:35am, but his empty stomach was making its presence known and he realised that between hospital visits, emotional breakdowns and nightmares he hadn't showered in two days. He carefully pulled his hand away from Burt's, not wanting to wake him, climbed out of the bed.

He stood in the bathroom and unwrapped the bandage around his sprained wrist before undressing. It was the first time he had looked at his body since the assault and he felt physically sick at the sight of it.

He could see dark, angry hand-prints as if they were seared into his flesh and he felt the strong grip on his arms, fingers biting at his hips, hands spreading his thighs. His hand flew to his mouth as a cry tore from his lips at the memory. He had been feeling so good, so safe just minutes earlier, he felt like his own mind was betraying him. Why did it keep assaulting him with these memories when he just wanted to forget?

He stumbled into the shower and stood under the harsh spray. It stung his cuts, and even the gentle patter of water was agony on his bruised and broken ribs, but he had to admit it felt good to get clean again, to wash off the dirt and blood. If only the sickening fear and shame he felt coating him could be washed off so easily.

His fingers brushed over the bite mark on his neck and lingered there for a moment. He hated this more than any other mark that had been left on his body and it burned under his touch like a brand. And that was what it was to him; he had been taken, used and this mark would always be there as proof.

He hadn't realised how hard he was digging his fingers into the wound until a trail of fresh blood began to run down his chest. He startled at the site, and quickly finished his shower and hid himself beneath a new set of Finn's overlarge clothes.

He made his way downstairs and was surprised to find Carole already in the kitchen, surrounded by pots and pans and plates stacked with muffins and pancakes. She looked up as he walked in.

'Couldn't sleep,' she said with a shrug and a warm smile that pushed back the feeling of guilt Blaine immediately began to feel. 'Come sit down,' she gestured to the kitchen table. 'Let me wrap your wrist back up for you and then you can eat. Something tells me you're very hungry.'

Blaine's stomach gave a growl in the affirmative and he smiled shyly, a faint blush staining his cheeks.

He ate as fast as possible with one hand, and had finished three pancakes and two muffins before he paused to take a breath. He looked sheepishly at Carole.

'Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude.'

'Don't be silly, you needed to eat. And I live with Finn, remember, I'm used to much worse.'

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Blaine stood and started to clear away his dishes. Carole thought about stopping him, telling him that he really didn't need to, but she had a feeling that he wouldn't listen. He was just so unfailingly polite and well-mannered. She had once thought that he was a credit to his parents, but she knew now that all the praise lay with him.

She watched him quietly as he began to wash the pans she had left filling the sink. He was such a sweet, kind boy, and to see him like this, shoulders hunched, eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on things other than the thoughts running through his head, so different to his usual expressive self, was heartbreaking.

She walked over and began drying the dishes, so that they were standing side by side, shoulders almost touching.

'How are you feeling?' She knew the questions was vague, but that Blaine would know what she meant.

Blaine's hand stilled at the quiet question and his customary _'I'm fine.'_ began to trip off his tongue as it had so many times in the past, but he stopped himself. He looked at Carole, trying to decipher if she really meant, if she really wanted to know what was going on inside his head, or was just making conversation, and saw nothing but kindness and honesty there.

'I don't know.' He sighed. 'I'm not being evasive, I just…I really don't know.' He looked to Carole to see if she understood and received a nod of encouragement.

'I just feel like I have no control; over myself, over anything.' His fingers subconsciously moved to rub against the mark on his neck. 'One minute it's like I'm empty, everything's muted and I can barely feel anything at all, and the next it just hurts so much I can barely breathe. I just want to be normal again. I want everything to be like it was before.'

Carole reached up to still the hand scratching at the scab.

'From what you've said, it doesn't sound like things were perfect before either.'

Blaine looked down.

'I love my parents. I know they're not perfect, but I do love them. They're all I know.'

'That doesn't mean that's all there is, Blaine. Things can be better. You deserve better.'

He didn't answer, just went back to washing the pans in front of him, but Carole knew he was considering her words. When everything was washed and dried she held her hand out to Blaine.

'Come on. Let's go raid Kurt's Disney collection.'

He only hesitated a moment before clasping it tightly in his own and smiling back at her.

'I'd like that.'

* * *

><p>When Burt descended the stairs to find Blaine and Carole curled up on the couch watching The Little Mermaid, Blaine tucked tightly into Carole's side, her arm stroking softly up and down his arm, he fell in love with his wife all over again. She was such a loving person, a natural mother, and Blaine had clearly gravitated towards her just as he had. For the first time he felt hope that he might come out the other side intact.<p>

The morning passed quietly and uneventfully, Blaine and Carole watching films while Burt read the paper. Occasionally Blaine would tense or his eyes would glaze over as he became lost in his thoughts, but a soft word and gentle touch from Carole and he would come back to the present and relax back against her with a shaky nod that he was okay.

Both Carole and Blaine were laughing gently as they watched Finding Nemo, when Burt came to stand by the television, phone clutched tightly in his hand, jaw clenched. Carole paused the movie and put a comforting hand on Blaine's back as he looked hesitantly at Burt.

'Officer Brady just rang.' Blaine froze. He hadn't expected the police to call this soon. 'They took James in for questioning. He admitted what happened…' Blaine eyes opened wide in surprise. '…but…' Burt trailed off.

'What? But what?' Blaine sprang to his feet and ran over to Burt, who stood rubbing the back of his neck, unsure how to phrase what he had to say.

'He said it was consensual. He said you initiated it.'

Blaine took a step back, hands coming up to cover his face, shaking his head violently.

'It wasn't, it wasn't, I didn't want that.' His whispered into his hands.

'We know, Blaine, we know.' Burt moved forward, gently removing Blaine's hands from his face so he could look him in the eyes. 'No-one believes him, Blaine, and no-one will.'

He pulled Blaine into a tight hug, arms encircling him, one hand splayed firmly across his back, the other tangling gently in the messy curls. Blaine pressed himself to Burt's chest, his hands caught awkwardly between them, trying to surround himself with every good feeling that this man encompassed.

'I didn't want it, I didn't, I didn't.' He whispered into Burt's shirt, over and over.

'We know, Blaine, we know, we know.'

Both men were so immersed in this moment, that neither heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, neither heard the door open, the 'thud' of bags dropped to the ground or the approaching footsteps.

'Blaine? Dad?'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Does that count as a cliffhanger? I hope so...I always try to do cliffhangers, but they never seem to actually...hang?<strong>

**Hope this was ok - I was trying to convey Blaine's emotional lability, which is why he kept swapping between happy(ish) and broken. Hope it came across ok. **

**As always, would love to hear everyone's thoughts.  
><strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: I am sooooooooo sorry for the long wait. I found it really hard to get started on this chapter for some reason. I'm still not really happy with it, but just wanted to get it out to be honest. I know exactly how the next one starts though, so fingers crossed...**

* * *

><p>'Blaine? Dad?'<p>

Blaine sprang away from Burt and stumbled backwards, eyes wide as he looked at the confused faces of Kurt and Finn.

'Boys, I thought you were getting back on Sunday afternoon.' Burt questioned, glancing nervously between them and Blaine.

'It is Sunday afternoon, Dad.' Kurt answered, but his eyes never left Blaine. He took in the bandaged wrist, the bruised face streaked with tears and the terrified look in his eyes.

'What's going on? Blaine, what happened to your face?' Kurt stared, face questioning, waiting for an answer, but Blaine was unable to provide one. He stood, shaking, his eyes flitting between Kurt, Finn and Burt.

Kurt took a step towards Blaine and reached his hand out to him.

'Blaine…' He stopped abruptly with a hurt expression when Blaine flinched backwards.

'Ok, will someone please tell me what is going on here?'

Carole stepped forwards, sensing how easily the situation could spiral out of control, trying to intervene before that happened.

'Kurt, Finn, will you take your bags upstairs, please. Burt and I just need to talk to Blaine for a minute.' She said gently.

'No.' Kurt was indignant. 'I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on.' He felt a soft tug at his sleeve and turned to see Finn standing at his shoulder.

'I think we should go upstairs, Kurt.'

'No, Finn, I…' He trailed off as he followed Finn's line of sight. He was looking at Blaine, who had shrunk into the corner of the room at Kurt's outburst. His bandaged arm was held tightly to his chest and his whole body was trembling.

Kurt looked back to his father, desperate for an explanation.

'Please, Kurt. I promise I'll explain everything, but I need to talk to Blaine alone first.'

Reluctantly, Kurt picked up his bags, waving Finn away when he tried to carry his for him.

'I can carry my own damn bags, Finn.' Finn stepped back holding his hands up in defeat. He made a quick detour over to where Carole stood and enveloped her in a silent hug, before Kurt picking up his own bags and following Kurt upstairs, with a nervous look towards Blaine over his shoulder.

Kurt stormed up the stairs. He wasn't really angry, more frustrated and overwhelming worried, and it was easier to mask it in anger. And although he would never admit it, there was also that tiny twinge of jealousy he felt whenever he saw his father hugging, hell just interacting with someone else. It had just been the two of them for so long, he still hadn't quite come to terms with the concept of _sharing _him.

He stopped still at the top of the stairs, then stumbled forwards as Finn careened into him. The large hand gripping the back of his shirt stopped him falling on his face, but his eyes remained trained on his bedroom door. His open bedroom door. Through which he could clearly see an unmade bed and a pile of clothes in the corner.

'Dude, you left your room like that? Nice. I must be rubbing of on you.' Finn held his hand out for a high five with a grin on his face.

'I didn't leave my room like that. And don't call me dude.' Finn lowered his hand and shrugged.

'Then why is it…?'

'Blaine. Blaine's been staying here.'

Kurt walked slowly into his room, dropped his bag at the door and sat carefully on the edge of the bed, gently worrying the duvet between his fingers. A chair had been moved next to the bed, and there was a small silver packet just sticking up from behind the cushion. Kurt picked it up and looked at it closely. It was a prescription made out to Burt Hummel.

Kurt sat in silence trying to straighten out the mess of thoughts currently rushing through his head. Blaine, Blaine who a few minutes ago had been sobbing into his father's shirt, Blaine who had looked so tiny and frightened as he _flinched_ from his touch, had spent at least one night at his house, and his father had, by all appearances spent at least some of that night sitting with him.

His anger and jealousy had long since fled. Now he just wanted to know what the hell was going on.

* * *

><p>'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause problems.' Blaine hung his head, his voice barely audible above the thuds and bangs coming from above them in Finn's room.<p>

'Come on, none of that Blaine. You're not causing problems.' Burt took Blaine by the elbow and led him back to the couch.

'I have to tell them, don't I?' Blaine's voice was soft, but assured, as if he had already come to the decision.

'You don't have to do anything you don't want to,' Burt insisted, 'but I do think you should. They obviously know something's going on and you know what Kurt's like. He won't let anything drop.'

The corner of Blaine's mouth twitched in a smile. He loved Kurt's stubbornness.

'What if he's angry at me.' He asked Burt quietly.

'He won't be.'

'But…'

'He won't be, Blaine. And if he is, he'll have me to deal with.'

'Could…' Blaine tried to ask, but his voice came out as a broken whisper, barely audible. He looked down, tried to compose himself enough to carry on.

'Could you…I just… I don't know if I can say it again. Yesterday was…' He closed his eyes and shivered at the thought of it, saying those things, those awful things out loud to a room full of people.

'I can tell them for you, if you're sure that's what you want.' Blaine nodded his reply. 'Do you want to be here when I do?'

Blaine looked up at Burt. He thought about sitting there in silence as Burt told them the truth, seeing the look on Kurt's face first hand. However he responded, whether he was angry, disgusted or upset, he didn't think he could cope with that image, didn't think he would ever be able to get it out of his head.

'No.' He shook his head firmly. 'No, I…' He stopped. Would Burt think he was a coward? Foisting his problems onto someone else because he couldn't be man enough to tackle them himself. 'Is that ok? I just…'

'It's fine, Blaine. Whatever you're most comfortable with.'

Blaine looked up as Carole came to stand beside him.

'Do you want me to stay here with you while Burt talks to them?' She asked.

'No, no, that's ok. You should be there, for Finn.'

He watched them leave before looking back down at his hands. This was it. Soon Kurt would know what had happened and would want nothing more to do with him.

He knew Mr Hummel thought otherwise, but how could he know? He hadn't just ignored Kurt's advice, he'd laughed at him for it, and then spent an entire week ignoring him. He supposed in some way this was all karma. He'd been a terrible friend to Kurt and had paid the price for it through James.

The vast, all encompassing sadness he felt engulf him at the thought of losing Kurt's friendship dwarfed anything he had experienced over the past few days. Meeting Kurt had changed his life. He knew Kurt thought he was strong and brave, but in truth, they were the very traits he had seen in Kurt, that had drawn him to the other boy in the first place.

When he texted 'COURAGE' to Kurt on the first day they met, he hadn't been tellingKurt he neededto be courageous, just reminding him that he already was.

And as Kurt had come to trust and believe in himself again, Blaine had pretended to do so too. After a while, he almost began to feel like he wasn't even pretending anymore, like he really could be the person everyone thought he was and so desperately wanted to be.

But now it was all over. That small semblance of self worth he had discovered thanks to Kurt had been shattered by James, allowing the voices of his parents and former bullies to creep back in. And soon Kurt would be just a distant memory and once again he would have to face it all alone.

* * *

><p>'This is all my fault.' Kurt whispered, tears already streaming down his face.<p>

'No, Kurt.'

'But I knew. I knew he was meeting him and I didn't tell anyone. I didn't do anything.'

'You didn't know this would happen. You are not to blame, Kurt. No-one is, except that…that man.'

'Oh God, Blaine.' Kurt leant forward, resting his head in his hands. He felt liked he'd been sucker punched in the stomach. 'How could this happen…I think I'm going to be sick.'

He ran out of the room, the back of his hand pressed firmly to his mouth.

There was silence for a few seconds before Finn spoke for the first time.

'I don't understand.' He looked between Burt and Carole, confused. 'Someone hurt Blaine? Like, sex and stuff?'

Carole sighed.

'Yes, honey.' She took his hand in hers and reached up to stroke his hair. 'They hurt him very badly.'

'But…he's a guy. And he's gay.' Burt's expression darkened. 'I'm not being…you know, like I was…before...I promise. I just don't get it. Why didn't he try and stop them?'

Burt felt his anger bubble to the surface, and knew it would be so easy to let rip at Finn, just as he had done in the basement all those months ago, but deep down he knew that Finn was telling the truth. He wasn't trying to be cruel, he just truly didn't understand. He had a horrible feeling Finn wouldn't be the only one to ask these questions, and others might be a lot more blunt about it. He rubbed his hand over his head and tried to think of how best to explain it.

'Finn, it doesn't matter that he's a man, or that he's gay. Someone did things to him that he didn't want and that's not ok.'

Finn screwed his face up, as if trying very hard to comprehend the situation, before summing it up the best he could.

'He looked really sad.'

'Yeh,' Burt sighed, 'he is. And he needs us to be there for him and to not treat him any differently.

'What if I can't?' They turned to see Kurt standing in the doorway, eyes red and puffy.

'I…I don't know what I should say to him. He looked so….that wasn't Blaine, dad.' Kurt tried to keep his voice quiet, so that Blaine would not overhear, but he could feel himself losing control. 'He wouldn't even let me near him, he flinched away from me. He's always been so physical. He holds your hand and gives you hugs and…I don't want him to be different, I want him to be how he was. I need him to be how he was.' He was becoming hysterical now, his voice high pitched and pleading.

'Right now it's not about what you need, Kurt.' Burt admonished. 'It's about what Blaine needs, and he needs you to support him, be there for him. Just like he has been for you.'

'I don't know if I can, dad…' Kurt pulled hard at the bow tie, which was suddenly so tight against his throat, making it impossible to take a breath. 'I need some air. I'm going out for a bit, just …just to get some air.'

He turned towards the door, but what stopped by a hand grabbing his arm hard.

'No, Kurt.' His father's voice was loud and angry. 'If you run out now, do you know what he's going to think? He's going to think you're abandoning him. That you don't care, or worse that you blame him. I won't let you do that to him, Kurt. And frankly I'm disappointed that you would even consider it. I thought you had more compassion than that.'

As Kurt's face crumpled, Burt pulled him into a firm embrace.

'I'm sorry. I know this hard for you too and a lot to deal with, but this has to be about Blaine right now. I know that you understand that. He's your friend and he needs you to be strong for him. Can you do that?'

He pulled away enough to look Kurt in the eyes. Kurt nodded as Burt reached a hand to brush away his tears.

'I'm proud of you, son.' He whispered gruffly, before leading him towards the stairs.

Kurt took a deep breath as he reached the bottom step. He ran his hand through his hair and prepared himself to face his friend. But as he entered the living room, he didn't find what he had expected. He found instead an empty room and a hastily scrawled note of two words.

_I'm sorry_

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><p><strong>AN: I hope people aren't too mad at me for holding off on the Klaine cuddles just yet - I just feel like Kurt is this 16 year old kid, and he's not going to be perfect and selfless and know exactly what to do. <strong>

**Also, I was wary of the Finn section, but I know a lot of people do think like that. ...I finally told a friend of mine that I write fanfiction (I came out of the fanfic closet, yay) and when I said that it was about a gay character and he got raped, the first thing he said was...'Oh, and that's why he's gay?' I shit you not. And this is a seriously intelligent, not in the slightest homophobic guy. I think ****I've been involved in slash fandoms and general gay culture for so long, that I sometimes forget how plain _ignorant _most people are...**

**Anyways, hope it wasn't too sub par. Would love to hear from you all. **


	12. AN  update information

**AN: Sorry to do one of these, I know they're annoying, but some important information about future updates…**

**I really wanted to get an updated out before I go on holiday for a week, but unfortunately it just hasn't happened. I won't have internet, but I have already started the next chapter and will hopefully get some writing done while I'm away so I can post when I get back.**

**The day after I get back I'm starting work as a doctor. I have no idea what to expect, but I imagine it's going to be very physically, emotionally and intellectually draining. Whether I'll have the inclination, let alone the time, to write, I don't know.**

**I want to stress that this story will NOT BE ABBANDONED. I will just need a bit of time to get into the swing of working full time, so please please bear with me.**

**I know how frustrating it is to read a WIP and have no idea when it's going to be updated, so please feel free to message me, either here or at my tumblr (katiek723(dot)tumblr(dot)com) to ask how it's coming along.**

**I'm also unlikely to be able to reply to every review, but I am soooooo grateful for every one that I get; that really do make me so happy and make the writing flow a lot faster.**

**Sorry again, I really should have updated more over the last month, I have no excuse other than my laziness. **


	13. Chapter 12

**AN: Hey. Guess what I did? Can ya guess? Can ya? I updated :D Yay me *seal clap***

**All my usual apologies for being so late updating. I promise I've been thinking about this a lot and have some awesomely angsty ideas for further down the line. **

**Thanks for sticking with me. Big thanks to everyone who sent me good luck for work - it's definitely been...an experience. I haven't killed anyone yet, so that's a good sign :p**

**Also, massive thanks to the people who gave me a kick up the arse on Tumblr. I doubt I would be updating today if it hadn't been for you. **

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><p>Kurt ran forward and grabbed the note off the table.<p>

'I'm sorry? I'm sorry? What does that mean? Dad, what…?' Kurt thrust the crumpled paper towards his father desperately. 'What does it mean, Dad?'

'Shit, SHIT.' Burt shouted, crumpling the paper in his hand and throwing it to the floor. 'Carole, check the kitchen, I'll check the bathrooms.'

Kurt stood frozen in the middle of the living room as Burt and Carole ran out of the room. What had he done? Blaine must have overheard him, that was the only explanation. If Blaine had hurt himself _or worse_…He felt his chest tighten again at the thought, his blood rushing in his ears, and knew he needed to get out.

He threw the front door open and felt his heart stop at the sight before him. He sprinted over to the figure sitting hunched over on the curb with his head in his hands and threw his arms around him.

'Oh God, Blaine.' He sobbed into his hair.

Blaine startled at the sudden contact, wrenching himself out of Kurt's grasp and scrambling backwards, eyes wide and afraid.

'Blaine, it's me, it's just me.' Kurt took a step forwards, but stopped, hurt flashing across his face as Blaine retreated further.

The two boys eyed each other in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before the door burst open and Burt and Carole came running towards them. Burt pulled Blaine into a tight hug while Carole brushed a hand through his curls and Kurt felt a pang of jealousy that Blaine accepted their touches without hesitation, but pushed him away.

'We thought you'd hurt yourself, Blaine. You can't do that, kiddo, you just can't.' Burt whispered, gruffly.

When Blaine didn't respond Burt pulled away, just far enough to look him in the eyes, keeping his hands firmly on his shoulders.

'What did you mean? When you said 'I'm sorry', what did…were you going to hurt yourself?'

'No.' Blaine's response came almost too quickly, too forcefully, and at Burt's sceptical look he dropped his gaze to the floor. 'I don't know. I've just... I've put you through so much already, you've done so much for me, and when…'

He looked over at Kurt, but quickly looked away again, cheeks flushing in shame and embarrassment as he recalled the words he knew he was not meant to have heard.

'I just thought it would be better if I dealt with it all on my own, stop putting my problems onto everyone else. But then I got outside and I just felt so lost. I didn't know where to go and…' He trailed off and his body hunched forwards, folding in on itself.

Burt pulled him back into is arms, shaking his head as he tried to figure out what it would take to finally get through to this boy that he was welcome in their house, that he was wanted.

Kurt watched the exchange, doing nothing to stop the tears spilling down his face, and felt guilt tear him in two. He had done this to Blaine, he was responsible for making him feel like he didn't deserve to be looked after or cared for and he knew would do anything to make it up to him. He took a step towards them, but stopped as Burt broke the hug and put his arm around Blaine's shoulders.

'Let's go back inside.' He said, leading Blaine towards the open door. 'I think we all need to have a talk.'

Fifteen minutes later, they were all sitting in the living room, Blaine clutching a mug of hot chocolate despite the heat, Burt and Carole either side of him and Kurt perched uncomfortably on the edge of the armchair, unsure of how he fit into this new household dynamic that seemed to have formed in his short absence.

Finn had hastily left to visit Rachel, under strict orders from both Burt and Carole that he was not to mention to anyone what had happened without Blaine's express permission.

'Blaine, you can't run away like that.' Burt opened the conversation. 'We were really worried about you.'

'I'm sorry.' Blaine's voice was quiet and laced with guilt and self-reproach.

'That's ok.' Burt replied instantly. 'I'm not trying to make you feel bad, we just want you to know that we care about you. You can come to us if you feel upset or worried. About anything.'

Blaine didn't reply and they sat in silence while Burt wondered how to broach the next subject.

'Now, I need you to be honest with me, Blaine.' He began, angling his body so he was facing the boy sitting timidly beside him. 'Were you going to hurt yourself? I mean…not just now…Have you thought about it?'

Blaine looked hesitantly between the people in the room and felt sweat begin to gather at the back of his neck under the scrutiny. Carole gently took the mug from his shaking hands before it spilt.

'I haven't…I haven't hurt myself.' He swallowed around the lump in his throat and willed himself to carry on. 'But sometimes….' His voice cracked and he hated himself for once again being such a pathetic coward. He licked his lips and forced himself to continue.

'I just don't want to feel like this anymore. I'm trying, I'm really trying to move on, but there are these voices…' He stopped at the looks that Burt, Carole and Kurt gave each other, the unspoken words that flashed between them.

'I'm not crazy.' He said, body tensing up and drawing away from the others defensively. 'I don't mean voices like…like…I'm not crazy.' His voice rose in his agitation.

'No-one thinks you're crazy, Blaine.' Carole interrupted. 'We're just trying to understand how you're feeling so we can help.' She leant forwards, trying to comfort him. 'The thought of you hurting yourself, or even wanting to, terrifies us. Can you explain it to us?'

Blaine looked towards her, and immediately felt the honesty in her words wash over him. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

'My parents…they say these horrible things to me, they always have. I don't want to believe them and normally I just shut them out, but sometimes, when I'm having a bad day, when everything just gets too much, I can hear them, again and again, telling me how worthless and disappointing I am, how disgusting.'

He saw the outrage on the faces of his audience, and was shocked to realise he didn't feel the need to flinch away from it or defend himself. On the contrary, their obvious show of anger comforted him, made him feel strangely protected from the vicious verbal assaults he was so often subjected to.

'Being at Dalton helped a lot. Having people like me and look up to me, having Kurt…' He looked towards Kurt and froze as their eyes made contact. The two boys sat silently, looking at each other, a faint blush staining their cheeks, and Burt and Carole shared a sad smile at the obvious feelings they felt for one another.

Burt cleared his throat loudly, stopping abruptly at the stern glare he received from his wife, but it was enough to startle both boys out of their trance, and they looked away, embarrassed.

'Um, yeah…' Blaine tried to regain his place. 'Yeah, it was okay for a bit, good actually, really good. But since…' he trailed off, still not able to vocalise what had happened to him. 'They won't stop, the voices. They're there all the time and they're so loud and now I can hear his voice too.' He broke off into quiet sobs at the thought of James and his awful voice in his head.

Burt moved to put and arm round him, but stopped as he saw Kurt get up from his seat and move to kneel in front of Blaine. He rested his hands gently on top of Blaine's and whispered his name almost under his breath, until they were once again looking into each others' eyes.

'They're wrong. They're so wrong, Blaine.' He said, thumbs moving in tiny, soothing circles.

They were so engrossed in each other that neither noticed when Burt and Carole stood and quietly made their way out of the room or heard the shrill ring of the telephone in the next room.

'Hummel residence…'

'Mrs Anderson? Hello, this is…'

Blaine finally registered his surroundings and his head snapped to side at the mention of his mother.

'Yes, this is Carole Hummel-Hudson. It's goo…'

'Please, call me Carole…'

He looked back to Kurt, clearly shocked and confused, and Kurt took his hand in his, helped him rise to his feet and led him over to the kitchen so they could hear the one-sided conversation.

'Yes, Mrs Anderson, Blaine has been staying with us for a few days…'

'Well…

They could hear the voice on the other end of the phone, harsh and overbearing as it interrupted Carole's attempts at friendliness, but couldn't make out exactly what was being said.

'No, I'm sorry Mrs Anderson, but I have to disagree…'

'No….No…'

'He is not exaggerating anything and he most certainly did not bring this on…'

It was obvious to everyone present what she was saying about him, and Blaine screwed his eyes tightly shut, more upset that these wonderful people were hearing what his own mother thought of him than at the sentiment itself. '_What if they agree? What if they realise it's all true, everything those voices…_

He felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind and the urge to shove them off and run slid away as a voice, a beautiful, melodious voice whispered in his ear, 'Don't listen to her. You're beautiful. You're perfect.'

'Mrs Anderson, I really think…

'You know what, you're right. He's not that hurt, just a little bruised up…' This time three faces snapped around in confusion and Blaine felt his heart sink.

'There's absolutely no need for you and your husband to put yourselves out by rushing home. Blaine can stay with us for as long…'

'No, I am not fishing for money. We have your insurance details to deal with any medical issues and past that I'm not asking for a penny from you. We are more than happy to have Blaine stay…

'Well I'm very glad that makes life easier for you. Goodbye Mrs Anderson.'

She slammed the phone down into its cradle and everyone jumped at the noise. They looked between each other, all a bit unsure as to what had just happened, no-one quite willing to be the first to speak.

Finally Carole ran a hand through her hair and turned towards Blaine.

'I'm sorry, Blaine. I shouldn't have done that without asking you first, but I just…I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you go home to that woman, not now, not when….You need to be looked after right now and if they came and took you away…I'm sorry, I just couldn't let that happen.'

She looked at Blaine, trying to see if he was angry or upset, but he just stared at her, open-mouthed.

'You lied…' he started, and Carole berated herself for being so quick-tempered.

'I am so sorry, Blaine. I know I shouldn't…I can call her back if you want…'

'You lied to her….so…so I could stay here? With you?'

'Yes.' Carole sighed, and before she could apologise again, she found her arms full as Blaine launched himself forwards, arms wrapping tightly around her .

'Thank you.' He cried into her shoulder. 'Thank-you so much.'

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><p><strong>AN: Hope it's ok. Would love to here what you thought.<strong>


	14. Chapter 13

**AN: Wow, I can't believe it's been nearly 2 months since I updated. That is horrendous. Between moving house, going on holiday and work, it just didn't happen. Unfortunately, work being work, I can't promise it won't be this long again, but I'll definitely do my best.**

**Thanks you to everyone that has reviewed or messaged me about this fic, it really means a lot to me and definitely helps get me writing.**

**I hope I havn't lost too many of you by updating slowly and that it's worth the wait...(also, I'm really sorry if there's a lot of mistakes in this, I'm just really eager to get it out).**

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><p>Kurt sat perched on the side of his bed, hands resting lightly on his knees, and stared at the wall in front of him. He could see Blaine out of the corner of his eye, mirroring his position almost exactly, except that his hands moved restlessly, clenching and scratching at the fabric of his trousers, periodically moving up to rub harshly over his neck before dropping back down again in tense fists.<p>

Kurt wanted to do something, take Blaine's hands in his so they would just stop for one second, but he felt paralysed, as unable to move as Blaine was to stop. Downstairs, when Blaine had been so openly hurting and afraid, about to fall apart before his eyes, it had been the simplest thing in the world to go to him, take his hands, hold him and whisper assurances. But then the moment had ended, Blaine had rushed forward to take comfort in Carole's arms instead and suddenly Kurt felt the distance between them expand once more.

Carole was such a mother-hen, it came so naturally to her to hug and stroke and offer comfort, and Blaine clearly felt safe with her. In fact, he seemed to have so quickly formed a bond with both Carole and his dad that it scared Kurt. Could he do that? Could he be there for Blaine so completely and unreservedly? He wanted to, he wanted to more than anything, but he was just a 16-year-old kid, for God's sake. What did he know about helping someone through something this…this...this huge?

They had gone upstairs to 'talk it through' on Carole's urging, but so far had sat for 10 minutes in a silence only broken by Blaine's worried movements and ragged breaths. Kurt tried to think of the right words, but really what could he say? _'I'm sorry you were raped.'_?_ 'I'm sorry the first thing I said when I found out was that it wasn't fair on me.'_?_ 'I'm sorry that you overheard and ran away but never made it past the end of our front garden because even if you don't want to be here you have literally nowhere else to go that wouldn't be a hundred times worse.'_?

God, it was all just so much bigger than him, than everything he'd ever experienced. Kurt had cried and raged and felt violated when Karofsky kissed him against his will. He'd had his precious first kiss taken from him and it was a devastating loss. He couldn't even begin to imagine the magnitude of what had been taken, no, stolen from Blaine, of the gaping hole it must have left in side of him. How could he ever be enough to fill that, or even begin to? How could he empathise when he couldn't even comprehend what Blaine was going through? Would he help at all or would he just make it worse? God, Blaine must hate him for making such a fuss about Karofsky, for acting as if he knew what violation really was.

Kurt was pulled out of his thoughts by a soft, shaking sound, and looked across to see tears streaming down Blaine's face. His shoulders shook with the effort of breathing, but he made no move to stop the tears or wipe them away, as if this was really the inevitable conclusion and what would be the point anyway? More would just fall, they always did.

Seeing Blaine like this, so resigned to his sadness, shocked Kurt into action, and he climbed up onto the bed, knelt next to Blaine and wrapped him in his arms, tucking his head tightly under his chin.

'Don't cry, please don't cry,' he pleaded, his fingers biting hard into Blaine's shoulders as if he was afraid that if he held any less tightly he would slip through his hands. 'I know I don't have any right to say that, I cried my eyes out because of a few shoves and a silly kiss, I just….I don't know what to do, Blaine. I want to make this better for you, I want to help, but I don't know how. Please tell me what to do right now.' Kurt was crying too, desperate for some assurance that he was doing something right.

Blaine gripped Kurt's shirt tightly in his hands and pressed himself as close as he could, breath hitching as he tried to answer through his tears.

'D…don't…don't leave…me, please don't…I…I'm s…sorry.' Kurt felt his own tears fall faster and tightened his arms.

'God, Blaine, I'm not leaving, I'd never…Please don't think that. You have nothing to be sorry for.'

'You…you didn't say anything a…and…I thought you were…' Blaine dissolved into another round of quiet, shaking tears against Kurt's chest.

'I just didn't know how to start. I'm so sorry for what I said before, I was just scared.' Kurt said. 'The thought of you being hurt like that… of course I wish it hadn't happened, but I would never abandon you. ' He pressed his cheek into Blaine's curls. They stayed like that, Kurt's long limbs wrapped tightly around Blaine, rocking gently, until their tears had dried and Blaine's breathing returned to a slow, even, if still shaky, rhythm.

'Blaine?' Kurt broke the silence tentatively, unsure if Blaine had fallen asleep against his chest. He received a soft hum in response. 'Do you…I mean, if you…I just… aargh,' he gave a frustrated cry at his fumbling attempt to articulate himself. 'If you wanted to talk about it, about what happened...' He felt Blaine tense against him. 'I know maybe you don't want to, but if you do, I'm here for you.'

Blaine pulled away, and looked at Kurt, before dropping his eyes to his lap.

'I really just want to forget about it.' He mumbled under his breath. Kurt was about to respond when Blaine continued, speaking almost to himself. 'I just…I always thought it would be so romantic and beautiful…' he shook his head swiping angrily and the tears in his eyes. 'God, I'm such an idiot.' Kurt took Blaine's hand in his own and brought it down gently, stilling the tremor that ran through it. 'It hurt, Kurt, it hurt so much and I never…I never imagined…and the things he said.' He looked up into Kurt in the eyes, desperate. 'Is that…' He looked down again, his forehead furrowing in a confused frown. 'Is that was it's always like? Because I don't think…I don't think I can…'

Kurt felt his heart break in his chest. 'No, Blaine.' His voice was firm, insistent.

'How do you know?' Blaine bit back, angrily. 'What have you ever done?' Kurt felt himself tense at the vitriol in Blaine's voice, but he knew it wasn't really directed at him.

'I know I'm not experienced, Blaine, I know I'm silly and romantic and idealistic, but I also know that what happened to you wasn't love, it wasn't even sex. It was rape.' Both boys flinched at such blatant use of _that _word. 'It was awful and it was violent and it wasn't anything close to what people do when they love each other. I may not know much about sex, but I know that.' Kurt's voice rose as he spoke, indignant and strong.

'But…' Blaine looked away, a deep, purple blush staining his cheeks at some humiliation Kurt could only begin to imagine.

Kurt waited in silence for him to continue.

'He…when he….I…' Blaine stopped, voice choked off and he drew back from Kurt, who instinctively followed, trying to maintain their contact. 'Don't,' Blaine begged, 'please. Please, don't touch me right now.' He held his arms out in front of him, a physical barrier between Kurt's body and his, even though he was desperately missing the closeness they had shared just seconds earlier.

Kurt sat back, biting anxiously at his lip, then stood up and stepped away from the bed.

'I'll…do you want me to go?' He asked, unsure how to proceed.

'No, no…I just need a minute.' Blaine screwed his eyes tightly shut, trying to force away the images that were creeping into his mind.

Kurt stood awkwardly for a few minutes, looking away in an attempt to give Blaine some privacy, until he felt a hand gently take his. Wordlessly Blaine pulled him forwards until his knees bumped the front of the bed. He raised an eyebrow in question, but followed without complaint until Blaine had manoeuvred him into a lying position and curled up tightly by his side, hand splayed gently across his chest.

Kurt lay still as Blaine's breaths evened out, not wanting to disturb this small semblance of peace he seemed to have found. He was just beginning to drift off himself, when he heard a quiet, 'Kurt,' a soft exhale, barely even a whisper. 'You make me feel so safe.'

Kurt brought his hand to his mouth to muffle the sob that rose at those words. He had no doubts that Blaine was still asleep, had no idea what he was saying. He brushed a curl away from Blaine's forehead and leaned over to press a gentle kiss.

'I love you, Blaine Anderson, I have since the first time you took my hand, and I promise, you are not going to go through this alone.'

Kurt carefully untangled himself from Blaine and looked over at the clock; 21:27. It seemed so much later; he felt completely burnt out and his chest ached with the weight of everything that had happened today. Was it really only 6 hours since he had stepped off a plane from New York? He'd been so looking forward to telling Blaine everything about Nationals and his blossoming ideas about college and shared flats. Then this awful bomb had been dropped the second he stepped through the door and everything he'd been planning to say had been completely forgotten.

He watched Blaine sleeping now, how his face seemed relaxed for the first time all day, his fingers finally still, no longer grasping at anything they could find. If he was tired, Blaine must be completely exhausted.

Kurt tiptoed out of the room and made his way downstairs, where Burt and Carole were sitting on the couch, talking quietly. They looked up as he padded around the sofa and stood directly in front of them, a questioning look on their faces. He said nothing, but pushed them gently aside and sat down heavily between them.

Burt wrapped an arm around his shoulders tightly and Carole patted his knee in reassurance.

'You okay, kid?' Kurt nodded his head, then shook it a second later, leaning into Burt's side.

'I don't know. Blaine's asleep. He's really worn out.'

'Did you talk about what happened?' Carole asked.

'Not really. I mean, we talked about…I don't know…how he felt, I guess. But he didn't want to tell me anything about what actually happened.'

'That's understandable.' Carole said. 'Just give him time. It's a really brave, what you're doing for him, and know it isn't easy.' Kurt smiled at her as she rose from her seat and made her way to the kitchen, knowing instinctively that father and son needed a moment alone.

'Dad, there's…there's something I wanted to ask him, but I didn't think he would…' Burt angled his head towards him.

'Did he…the guy, the man…did he, I mean…was he safe?'

Burt sighed, and looked away.

'Kurt, I don't think I should be telling you any of this. Blaine put a lot of trust in me when he let me be there for his statement, if I were to just…'

'I know Dad, I know.' Kurt interrupted. 'It's not like I'm asking for all the dirty details, I'm not trying to gossip, I just…I need to know, okay? I'm so worried about him, and if I have to worry about that on top of everything…' His voice rose in pitch with his agitation.

'Okay, just…he's okay, alright, you don't need to worry about that.' Burt said with a meaningful stare. 'That's all I'm saying, so just, please don't ask me anything else okay, not unless Blaine says you can.'

Kurt's body sagged with relief. He hadn't realised how much tension he had been holding, thinking about blood tests and medications and that agonising wait for a slip of paper that could change your life. At least that was one small positive, he supposed, although how you could call that a positive, that your _rapist _was considerate enough to wear a condom. One less negative was maybe more appropriate. Still, it was something, and right now those little somethings were all they had to cling to.

'Wait, there's one more thing.' Kurt called out as Burt rose out of his seat. 'I know, I know.' He said, at his father's expression. 'Just…Blaine's already told me, before all this I mean, we've talked a bit about his parents, how they don't really accept him. And what Carole was saying on the phone earlier…They're not coming to get him, are they? Do they know what happened? Do they even care at all?'

Burt exhaled slowly, air whistling through his pursed lips as he thought how to respond.

'Let's just say Blaine needs us to be there for him. He can't count on anyone else, so we have to be enough.'

Kurt nodded his head solemnly. 'I can do that,' he said, almost to himself. Burt saw the steely resolution in his eyes and had never been prouder of his son.

Kurt had just started to make his way back upstairs to Blaine when he heard a key in the lock. He turned to see Finn enter with a sheepish look on his face, then stumble aside as someone pushed past him and marched directly up to Kurt.

'Kurt.' She said, pausing after as if it were a sentence in its own. 'Finn told me what happened and I just had to come straight over and offer my condolences and support.' She beamed proudly at him.

Kurt's mouth fell open in shock, before he turned a murderous gaze on his step-brother.

'Finn, what the hell have you done?'

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><p><strong>AN: So, there it is. Hope it's ok. If I've done my job, it should be pretty obvious who it is at the end; man she is hard to write without turning her into a caricature. <strong>

**A plea for help; if anyone reading this knows anything about the American legal system, I would really love to pick your brains. I have some plans for the future of this fic, but can't even begin to think how to start it, because I don't know the first thing about the details of American courts...so yeh, drop me a message here or on Tumblr (same name) if you wouldn't mind helping out.**

**Thanks for reading everyone, hope you enjoyed.**


	15. Chapter 14

**AN: Hi guys *waves sheepishly***

**So, I know I've lost lots of readers with my horrible long breaks between updates. I'm really sorry. Work is just really tiring, and by the time I've caught up reading all the fics I miss, I don't get round to writing. I want to reiterate though, THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE ABANDONED. I have so many ideas for where this is going to go, I absolutely am going to finish it, even if it takes me years (which hopefully it won't).**

**Thank-you again to everyone who reviews or messages me. I love getting feedback and constructive criticism. I take it all into account and it really does help me to write faster and get over pesky blocks.**

**IMPORTANT QUESTION: ?name change? I started posting this on Scarves and Coffee as 'Who Can Help Me Now?' Is that an ok name? I was thinking about changing it to that on here as well. What do you think? 'Help' was only ever a filler cos I couldn't be bothered to think of a title. **

**Anyways, I'll let you actually get to the fic now... **

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><p>'Finn, what the hell have you done?'<p>

Kurt rounded on Finn, eyes blazing. 'You promised, Finn, you promised you wouldn't say a word.' He pushed past Rachel and stormed towards him. 'How could you do this? Do you not care about him at all?' He kept his voice low, always aware of Blaine sleeping upstairs, but the venom in his voice was palpable and Finn stumbled back under the force of it. 'Are you still so sickened by us, so damn homophobic that you couldn't wait one day before running off to laugh and gossip about the stupid little gay kid behind his back?'

'Kurt, that's enough,' Burt stepped in, planting himself firmly between the two boys.

'But dad, he…'

'No, Kurt, I said that's enough.' He laid a gentle hand on Kurt's arm to soften the harsh tone of his words. 'Finn made a mistake, but I don't think it was out of hate or spite or even on purpose.' He looked back to Finn, who was shaking his head vehemently, eyes wide, clearly taken aback by Kurt's reaction and overwhelmed by the whole situation. 'But we need to stick together now, kiddo. There's gonna be some pretty tough times ahead for this family, none of us know how to handle this situation and we're not going to make it through if we jump down each other's throats every time someone slips up.'

Kurt looked back to Finn as if he was about to say something, but turned away again, spinning full circle with a desperate, pained look on his face, unable to articulate his distress. 'I just…he's going to be…he didn't want anyone to know, dad. He's going to be so crushed.'

'People were always going to find out at some point,' Burt replied, 'we'll just have to be there to help him. Like I said, we'll get through this as a family.'

He pulled Kurt into a tight hug and they had almost forgotten that they weren't alone when a small voice piped up, 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I was only trying to help.' Rachel stood beside them, hands clasped in front of her, eyes flitting nervously between them.

'That's very sweet of you,' said Burt, ignoring Kurt's barely concealed snort, 'but I think maybe it's best if you left. Just for now,' he added hurriedly when her face fell, 'and I hope we can trust you to keep this to yourself.'

'Of course,' she replied earnestly, nodding her head. She frowned slightly, opened then closed her mouth as if wanting to say something, but deciding against it. Finally, she settled on, 'Please, just tell Blaine that I'm sorry and I'm here for him. If he needs it.' She walked to the door, stopping to give Finn a soft kiss on the cheek, however, just as she was leaving she turned back to face them and blurted out in a rush, as if afraid she would be stopped if she paused to take a breath, 'I know you want to handle this as a family, and I understand that I really do, and I'm not trying to intrude, but one of my dads is a therapist and I'm sure if you wanted, I mean if Blaine wanted, he'd be happy to see him. For free, of course.' With that, she spun on her heel and left without waiting for a response.

Kurt felt an embarrassed, guilty blush rise up his neck as he watched the door close behind Rachel.

'I shouldn't have…' He trailed off, dragging a hand through his hair.

'It's ok, she'll understand,' Burt cut in. 'It was a kind offer.'

'Yeh. I don't know what Blaine will say, though, if he'll agree to it. He seems pretty keen on trying to forget that anything ever happened.'

'Maybe we'll bring it up when things are a bit more settled, when we know what's happening with his parents and the police,' Burt said.

'Yeh,' Kurt sighed, heavily. 'Is it okay if I go back upstairs? I don't want him to wake up alone.'

'Sure, but Kurt, I'm clearing out the spare room for Blaine to stay in from now on.' Kurt opened his mouth to complain, but Burt cut him off. 'Before you start, I know you're just friends, and it's fine for today because he's upset right now, but we have no idea how long Blaine's going to be staying with us. You both need your own space. I'd say the same thing if it was Mercedes staying, or Finn and Rachel.'

Kurt simply nodded and turned towards the stairs with a pat on the shoulder from Burt. He stopped when Finn spoke up in a quiet voice.

'I really am sorry, Kurt.'

'I know,' Kurt said, without turning around, and headed back upstairs to Blaine.

* * *

><p>Blaine woke slowly, eyelids gently fluttering open and closed as he adjusted to the soft light nudging through the curtains. It was so unlike the abrupt, stomach-churning jolts into reality that he had become used to over the last few days that for a few precious moments he was transported back to his room at Dalton, with his blazer and tie slung over his chair and the gentle buzz of his laptop permeating the room. As the sleepy fog gradually faded he became more and more aware of his true surroundings. Something wasn't right, he wasn't home; it was too quiet and there was something crowding him, <em>touching <em>him.

He jerked away, even before his brain could catch up to what he was afraid of, scrambling to the side of the bed, just barely managing to stop himself from tumbling to the floor. His ribs immediately gave protest at the sudden burst of movement and he clamped an arm tightly around them, trying to keep his breathing under control as he remembered where he was, and _why_.

'_Well,'_ he thought to himself bitterly, _'4 days on and I can make it 20 seconds after waking up without freaking out. Good for me. Give it another 50 years and I might be able to make it through a whole day.'_ He shook his head, and started to ease himself back down.

Kurt stirred at the commotion, reaching out his arm to find what he had been holding. Blaine slowly, tentatively let his hand creep towards him, and when Kurt's slender fingers found his they held on tightly and Kurt sighed contentedly in his sleep, before snuggling back down into his pillow. Blaine felt a bubble of emotion flick the corner of his mouth into a small smile, the first he could even remember making in what might as well have been forever. Before he even knew what he was doing he leant forwards until his lips were hovering over Kurt's cool, pillow-creased skin. He hesitated for a moment, feeling his own hot, shaky breath reflected back at him, before leaning forwards, so very, very slowly.

The second his lips touched Kurt's forehead Blaine flew back across the bed, hand pressed to his mouth.

'_What am I doing?' _he thought, trembling and confused. _'He's my friend, my best friend.' _But the sickly sweet butterflies that had fluttered in the pit of his stomach as he kissed Kurt refused to go away, refused to be ignored. _'Why do I have to do this, why do I have to ruin everything?_' He screwed his eyes tightly shut._ ' He's helping me, he's just helping me as a friend, it's nothing more.'_

With that, he all but ran from the room, determined to pull himself together and not ruin the only good thing he had going for him.

* * *

><p>Burt stepped out from underneath the bonnet and sighed deeply. He had been working on this car for over an hour and had barely made anyway headway, his mind far too preoccupied with home to concentrate on what he was doing.<p>

The last few days at the Hummel-Hudson house had been tense and uncomfortable for everyone. While Kurt still hadn't fully forgiven Finn, snapping at him for the slightest discretion and otherwise treating him to a steely silence, Blaine took the news of his slip up with a quiet resignation that worried Burt more than any measure of anger or upset would have. He seemed to be drawing more and more into himself as time passed, excusing himself to his new room any time someone tried to engage him. On top of that, he had been playing hot and cold with Kurt, going to him when he needed physical comfort, hugs and soft touches, then seemingly panicking and pulling away. And Kurt of course took his frustration out on everyone else.

Blaine had flat out refused to see Rachel's' father when they had broached the subject of therapy with him, and he hadn't pushed the idea, not wanting him to feel that he was being pushed into something he wasn't comfortable with, but now Burt was beginning to question if that was really a wise decision. Blaine clearly wasn't dealing with the situation on his own, and despite a few emotional breakdowns, he really didn't seem willing to truly talk to anyone about what had happened.

Burt jumped as a shrill ring cut through his musings. He wiped his hands on his overalls and answered the phone.

'Hummel Tires and Lube, Burt speaking...'

'Blaine?...'

'Hey, hey, slow down…'

'Blaine…BLAINE…you gotta slow down, kid, I can't hear a word you're saying...'

'What? Tomorrow? Ok...ok, this is…'

'Hey, come on, don't freak out...'

'I know, really, I know, but this is a good thing, Blaine, this is what we wanted. This is how you get justice...'

'Look, just stay put, I'm coming home now, ok. It's going to be fine, you're going to be fine.'

He put down the phone and took a deep breath.

'Everything alright, Boss? Sounded a bit heavy.'

'Yeh, Jim, it's all good,' Burt replied. 'You're gonna have to take charge tomorrow, alright? I got somewhere to be.'

'Sure thing, Boss. Date with the Mrs?' He said with a wink.

Burt chuckled uncomfortably. 'I wish. Date with a lawyer.'

* * *

><p>'Are you sure you don't want me to come with?'<p>

'No Kurt,' Blaine replied, desperately hoping his face didn't give away how much he didn't mean those words. 'You can't skip a day of school because of me. It's your last week before Summer break, you should enjoy it with your friends.'

'Blaine, I wouldn't be missing it _because_ of you.' He put his hand on Blaine's shoulder with a small smile. 'I want to be here for you, _with_ you.' Blaine felt his cheeks redden and his stomach flutter in a way he didn't want to acknowledge.

'Really, Kurt, I'll have your dad there with me, I'll be ok,' he insisted. 'Besides, I don't think he'll let you skip school.'

'You ready to go, Blaine?' Burt came through the doorway, cap in hand. 'And you too, Kurt, off to school, no arguments.' Kurt sighed, knowing when his father's tone of voice held no room for debate.

'Yes, dad. Blaine, call me any time…' Burt cleared his throat gruffly in the background, '…_text me_ any time. I'll call you back when I'm out of class,' he said, with a pointed look at his father.

Burt turned to Blaine after Kurt left. 'Come on. You can do this.'

Blaine stood in silence, not moving towards Burt's outstretched arm. He tried to force himself to move, to draw on every little piece of strength and courage that had been offered to him over the last few days. When the phone call had come through that James had officially been charged and he was to meet the lawyer for the prosecution he had wanted to run as fast and as far as he could, but Burt had come home from work to sit with him and let him talk through his fears, convince him that he was capable of seeing this through.

Blaine really didn't know how he had stumbled upon this family, the polar opposite of his own, but he was desperate to pay them back even the slightest bit for their kindness. He wanted Burt to be proud of him, and if being brave enough to face his lawyer was what Burt wanted of him, he could do it. He would make himself do it. He nodded to himself, and stepped to Burt's outstretched arm.

The ride to the lawyer's office was quiet, but not uncomfortable, but still passed all too quickly for Blaine, who soon found himself sitting in a waiting room, dreading hearing his name called.

'Blaine Anderson.'

He swallowed thickly, pretending to himself that he hadn't noticed the way the receptionist's eyes had widened in surprise as she took in his still bruised face. His eyes flitted towards Burt, who was looking at him encouragingly, and he pushed himself to his feet.

They were led down a corridor towards a door that opened as they approached it, to reveal a middle-aged man, with a stern face. He too did a mild double take at the sight of Blaine's injuries, but recovered smoothly, his professional mask slipping back into place. He extended his hand outwards.

'You must be Blaine, pleased to meet you.' Blaine shook his hand hesitantly. 'Please, come inside, take a seat, both of you.'

Blaine glanced nervously around the room, taking in the diplomas hanging on the wall, the bookcase full of imposing texts. Burt's hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present and he realised the lawyer was already speaking.

'My name is Kevin Sanderson and I work for the Office of the District Attorney, which means I'm going to be working closely with you to prosecute James Morgan.' He stopped, as if waiting for Blaine or Burt to say something, but when they remained silent, he continued.

'As I'm sure you're aware, yesterday Mr Morgan's legal team entered a plea of '_Not Guilty' _on one count of unlawful sexual activity, on the grounds that consent was sought and freely given. Blaine could feel himself shaking at such blatant discussion on those events, and he could see Burt's jaw clench at the mention of James's lies.

'Now, the reason he can do that, is that in Ohio, the legal age for consent of sexual activity is 16, but we can us this to our advantage.' Burt and Blaine shared a confused look. 'You may be of age to consent, but you are still legally a minor. In fact, many of our jurors may well originally be from other states, when 18 is the age of consent. We just have to play up to them that you are still technically a child in the eyes of the law to get them on our side, to have them seeing Mr Morgan as a predator.'

He looked at Blaine and Burt expectantly, as if to see them smiling and congratulating him on his great plan, and realised that they both seemed somewhat overwhelmed and taken aback.

'Okay, I can see this is all a lot to take in, so, how about we just get the formalities out of the way first and then you can ask any questions. I'll just need you and your father to sign…'

'Oh, no, no,' Burt interrupted, 'I'm not his father. '

'Oh, I'm sorry to assume, still, as Blaine's guardian I'll need…'

'No, I'm not his guardian either.' At Kevin's confused look he rushed to explain. 'He's friends with my son. His parents are away on business and we didn't think he should be alone right now, so he's being staying at our house.'

Kevin was silent for a moment, before clarifying, 'So you have no legal guardianship over Blaine? In fact, no legally recognised relationship whatsoever?'

'Uh…no. I mean yes, I suppose that would be correct.' Burt and Blaine looked over at each over apprehensively as Kevin muttered what sounded suspiciously like '_for fuck's sake'_ under his breath and ran his hand through his hair.

'Is... .' Blaine interrupted quietly, 'is that going to be a problem? I want him here.' He shared a shy smile with Burt. 'I mean, I consent, or whatever you need me to say. I'll sign something to say he can be here.'

'It doesn't work like that, kid.' Kevin sighed. 'You're sixteen, as we've discussed makes you a minor, which means I shouldn't even be talking to you right now. We can't do anything without a legal guardian's signature. Christ, I don't even know if your statement will be admissible, or any of the evidence collected at the hospital. _Fuck_.' He jumped to his feet, pulling out his mobile phone from his back pocket and tapping away furiously.

He stopped long enough to notice the horrified looks on Blaine and Burt's faces.

'Ok, ok, I'm sorry, it's going to be fine, I just need to make some phone calls, set some things straight. But you need to get hold of his parents ASAP,' he said, looking directly at Burt, 'like now. The longer these cases get delayed the less chance there is of being successful.

'But they're abroad, they won't be back…'

'I don't care, just get hold of them,' he all but shouted back. 'They must have mobiles. I mean, Christ, why aren't they here already, haven't you told them what happened? '

Blaine bit his lip and ducked his head, uncomfortable under Kevin's scrutiny.

'It's complicated,' Burt said, 'but we'll do our best.'

'Do better. Then we can actually start moving forward with this.' He closed his jacket and picked up his briefcase. 'Keep me updated.' And with that, he walked from the room, leaving Blaine and Burt sitting in stunned silence.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, to move the story on I had a lot of scene breaks, and a few time gaps...was it too jarring? Did it work? Other authors seem to cover so much time and I never quite get how they do it...it took me 13 chapters just to cover a few days.<strong>

**Also, I apologise for my incredibly limited knowledge of American law - I hope I didn't get anything to ridiculously wrong. Thanks to everyone who gave me info.**

**Anyways, thank-you to everyone that has stuck with this. I hope it doesn't disappoint too much.**


	16. Chapter 15

**AN: This was going to be longer, and it's not really my best, but I have relatives arriving in 5 minutes and they're staying until new year, then I'm straight back to work, so I figured it would be better to get it out now in case I don't have time once they arrive. I'm really sorry if there's lots of mistakes, but I havn't had time to check it through properly. I'll go through it and change anything wrong later.**

* * *

><p>Burt sat down next to Blaine on the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. By the time they had made it home Blaine had drawn so into himself, hunched over in his seat, that Burt might as well have been sitting in the car with a statue. It had taken over half hour of coaxing and gentle reassurances before he had relaxed enough to allow himself to be led into the house on shaky, unsteady feet.<p>

'Maybe…maybe I should just let it go?' It came out as a question, timid and unsure.

'Is that really what you want' Burt replied, 'to let him carry on with his life, no questions, no punishment? So that he can do it to someone else?' Burt bit his tongue; this had to be Blaine's choice and it wouldn't be fair to push or guilt him into it, but he just couldn't bear the thought of that man walking away scott free. There was no doubt in his mind that James Morgan was a seasoned predator, had likely hurt boys before Blaine and would hurt more after unless someone stopped him.

'What if they won't sign?' Burt looked up to meet Blaine's worried gaze, but had no satisfactory answer. 'I mean, If we even manage to get hold of them, what's to say they won't just sneer in my face and tell me I deserved it?'

'Hey, don't speak like that,' Burt snapped back automatically. 'I don't care if you're talking about someone else, I don't want you even thinking those kinds of things, you hear me?'

Blaine gave a small nod then ducked his head as the corner of his mouth flicked into a small smile, not quite wanting to admit how much Burt's gruff brand of caring meant to him.

'I think we just need to take one obstacle at a time, ok?' Burt said. 'I'll call their secretary again now, make sure they know exactly how vital it is they come home. We'll deal with them once they're actually here.' Blaine didn't look convinced, and Burt could see the way his hands shook at the thought of that conversation. He leant over and covered them with his own. 'I know you've had problems with your parents in the past, but I'm sure when they know what happened, when they see how hurt you are, they'll want to get justice for you as much as we do.'

Blaine wished he could be as optimistic as Burt, but the thought of having to face his parents still made him feel sick to his stomach and he couldn't quite convince himself it was worth it. He wrung his hands together nervously in his lap.

'Can I call Kurt?' Burt looked over at Blaine and boy did that kid have big eyes when he needed them? It was pretty near impossible to say no to him when he looked like a toddler on the verge of tears, but he knew he couldn't let this situation affect Kurt's, or any of their schooling any more than it already had.

'Text him and he'll call back when he has a break, but I don't want him skipping school to come back here.' He felt a spike of guilt as Blaine's face fell, but he knew he had to stand his ground, try to keep some semblance of normality in this situation. 'It'll only be one more week until he's on break with you, then you'll have the whole summer.' He paused for a few moments, watching Blaine; he just seemed so lost sitting there, seeking reassurance and permission for the slightest decision. He needed something to do, anything to stop him going over and over things in his head, even if just for a short time. Before the thought had even fully formed in his mind he said, 'Tell you what, how about you come with me to the garage. It'll stop you sitting here with nothing to do but stew.'

'What? Oh, well, I…' Blaine stuttered, 'I wouldn't want to get in the way of anyone.' He gestured vaguely to his still-bandaged wrist and healing ribs.

'Nonsense. There's plenty of things to do that aren't too strenuous and if you don't know what you're doing all the more reason to come and learn. As far as I'm concerned, if you don't know how to change a tyre or pop a bonnet then you shouldn't be driving in the first place. Come on,' Burt said, standing up and gesturing excitedly at the prospect of teaching his trade.

'I can do some stuff…' Blaine spoke so quietly that Burt almost missed it.

'What was that?' Burt turned around. He could tell there was more Blaine wanted to say, though he was struggling to get the words out, so he stayed quiet, giving him the chance to find his voice.

'My dad and I…he wanted me to…we fixed up a car together a few years ago.' Burt's eyebrows rose in surprise and he had to strain to hear the next words Blaine spoke. 'I think he thought it would make me s… straight.' Burt felt that familiar mix of heartbreak and anger at anything to do with Blaine's father.

'Blaine, you know that's not why I offered,' he said with a sigh.

'Oh, of course, no. I would never think that of you, Mr Hummel.'

'I've told you, call me Burt.' Blaine ducked his head with an embarrassed laugh. ' And I just think it would do you some good to get out of the house, do something practical. But if you'd rather…'

'No, no I'd like to,' Blaine interrupted. 'If it hadn't been for my father I think I might actually have enjoyed working on the car. And I want to make myself useful, you're doing so much for me.' Burt shook his head fondly, but didn't bother reprimanding Blaine again for his self-effacing nature. He was beginning to see it never did much good.

'You go get ready, wear something you don't mind getting ruined. 30 minutes sound okay?' Blaine nodded and went upstairs to get changed and Burt prepared to make another unpleasant phone call.

* * *

><p>When Kurt arrived home at 4pm to find an empty house he could have torn his hair out with worry. After an initial text at around 10am asking him to call back as soon as he was free Blaine hadn't answered any of his calls or responded to any of his texts. He knew his dad would pitch a fit if he left school early, so he'd spent the whole day telling himself that they would have contacted him if something was really wrong, but it had barely helped to calm his nerves.<p>

'Dude, stop pacing, you're making me dizzy,' Finn said, dumping his bag and heading straight for the kitchen. 'And how come you're allowed to mess up your hair, but you always yell at me if I do.'

'Because…urgh, Finn, not from the bottle.' Kurt made a face of disgust, and set a glass down loudly on the counter next to him. Kurt's frostiness with him was just beginning to ease, and Finn didn't want to do anything to jeopardise the fragile truce, so he poured himself a glass, although he couldn't quite see the point if he was just going to need to pour another one in a few seconds.

When he heard the door open Kurt rushed out of the kitchen and couldn't stop his jaw from falling open at the sight in front of him. Blaine was standing next to his father in a dirty t-shirt and rolled up sweats that could only be Finn's, with tangled, gel-free curls that looked as if they were attempting to escape from his head, and a smear of black grease across his cheek. But more than any of this; the uncharacteristically messy, untamed appearance, it was Blaine's face that shocked Kurt, or more specifically, the bright grin that spread across it, and the easy laughter emanating from him.

Burt's hand was resting lightly on Blaine's shoulder, and when the two finally noticed that they were being watched, they jumped apart slightly, as if caught doing something they shouldn't. Kurt raised an eyebrow as he made a show of looking over Blaine, who blushed and dropped his head.

'Uh, we…Burt, I mean, your dad and I…we…'

'Blaine came to the garage with me,' Burt interjected, when it was clear that Blaine wasn't going to get the sentence out himself. 'Quite the budding mechanic we have here,' he said, nudging Blaine's side. Blaine's blush deepened further, and he made a small noise of disagreement.

'And they don't have phone signal at the garage?' Kurt snapped suddenly. 'That's odd, because I seem to remember calling you there many times in the past, dad.' He looked pointedly between the two.

'Phone signal? What are…'

'You send me some vague, upset-sounding text asking me to call back, and then neither of you answer your phones for the next…' He made an overdramatic check of his watch. '…6 hours! I must have called you 50 times.'

Blaine's eyes widened and he fumbled in his pockets.

'My phone…I got changed and… I must have left it upstairs. I'm so sorry Kurt, I didn't mean to make you worry.'

Kurt huffed lightly. 'And what about you, dad? Forget your phone too?'

Burt looked sheepish and made a non-committal sound under his breath.

'Dad?'

'I turned it off, alright,' Burt said, and at the confused look both boys gave him he waved his hand in the air. 'Look, I'm sorry ok.' He turned towards Blaine. 'You seemed to be having fun and I didn't want to have to make you think about everything before you had to.'

'Oh.' Blaine's brows furrowed in thought for a moment. 'It…it _was_ nice to forget everything for a bit,' he said quietly, more to himself that the other occupants of the room.

Kurt's anger dissipated almost instantly seeing Blaine so relaxed, and without thinking he walked forwards until he was standing directly in front of him. When Blaine looked up, a surprised look on his face at the sudden proximity, Kurt smiled warmly at him, before reaching up to wipe at the oil on his cheek, letting his fingers linger there. Blaine startled a little at the contact, but swallowed thickly and forced himself not to duck his head again. He could feel his skin burning under Kurt's touch and hear his heart beat pounding in his ears. Being this close to Kurt was intoxicating; he felt light-headed and dazed, almost as if he were floating above himself, looking down. His eyes flickered down to Kurt's lips and he felt himself drawn towards them. He leaned forward, breath caught in his throat, until he was so close that he could feel Kurt's breath against his face…

'Hey, you're back.'

Blaine skittered backwards at Finn's intrusion, breathing heavily, eyes jumping between Kurt, Finn and Burt.

'I…I...I should shower,' Blaine whispered, the words barely out of his mouth before he was running past Kurt and up the stairs.

Kurt stood there, worrying his lip between his teeth, not quite sure what had just happened in the space of a few seconds.

'Kurt, I think we need a chat,' Burt spoke up, not relishing the thought any more than Kurt obviously was.

'No, dad. I just want…'

'Kurt,' Burt interrupted, walking behind, guiding him towards the kitchen, 'sit.' There was no room for argument.

For a few uncomfortable moments, neither spoke, Kurt wishing he could be elsewhere and Burt hoping he could find the words to do this right, and not end up making the situation worse than it already was.

'Kurt.'

'Dad.'

'I know that before… this… all started you had…' he paused, unsure of his wording, '…feelings for Blaine.' Kurt's face turned crimson and he looked towards the door, pining for an escape. 'But things are different now. Blaine is…'

'You think I don't know that, dad?' Kurt snapped back, hands thrown in the air in frustration.

'I'm just saying, kiddo, what happened to him was an awful, life-changing thing. He's not going to be himself, or the himself that you know, for a very long time, maybe not ever.'

'So we should all treat him differently? Like he's a child? I don't see how that will help.' Burt sighed, heavily.

'Please, just remember, he's so scared right now, fragile and vulnerable, and…'

'Vulnerable,' Kurt said, incredulous. 'What, you think I'm going to take advantage of him?'

'That's not what I meant and you know…'

'No, I know what you meant.' Kurt was shouting now. 'The stupid gay kid doesn't understand the word '_no'_.'

'Kurt…'

'No I get it, you're right. I did it to Finn and Sam, why wouldn't you think I'd do it to Blaine too?' Burt tried to get a word in, but Kurt was fuming, already storming away from the table. 'Don't worry, dad. From now on I'll keep my predatory hands to myself.' With that he slammed the kitchen door behind him.'

'_Well that went well,' _Burt thought to himself, before dropping his head to the table, with a thud.

* * *

><p>Blaine snapped back to himself as heard angry footsteps on the stairs, and fumbled to get into the shower and turn the water on before Kurt reached the top. He was in shock, couldn't quite get his head around what he had just heard. Burt thought that Kurt liked him, <em>liked him<em> liked him, and Kurt hadn't denied it. Suddenly all those little moments; Kurt's nervous giggles and shy smiles, how upset he'd behind after the Gap fiasco and stand-offish with James. _'God, no, don't think about him,' _Blaine told himself, as the familiar wave of revulsion poured over him at the slightest thought of James. Suddenly it was so glaringly obvious. And then he thought of himself, his own reactions over the last few days, the giddy butterflies that stirred in his stomach and the warmth that settled over him when he caught Kurt's gaze.

'_I like him.' _'I like him.' When he said it aloud the realization hit him like a fruit truck and his legs nearly buckled beneath him with the force of it. He steadied himself with a hand against the wall, the other pressed against him aching ribs. For a few short seconds he felt his heart soar with the thought of it, the joy of knowing that he liked someone and they liked him back, but then reality came crashing back down on him. He was broken, ruined. What did it matter if Kurt liked him if he could barely stand his touch for a few seconds without flinching away in terror? He'd yet to make it through a night without awful dreams of vice-like hands and evil words, how would he ever be of use to anyone again?

He let his feet slide out from beneath him and rested his head on his knees. How could he have been so stupid for so long? He'd spent months blindly going on, no idea that he'd been all but falling in love with his best friend. Why now? Why did he have to realise it now when he'd never be able to do anything about it? If he'd only seen it sooner, he could be with Kurt now, happy, in love. Just a few days sooner and he would never have glanced twice at James, never have gone out with him, never been… A sob tore from his throat and he hugged his knees tightly to his chest and cried at the unfairness of it all.

* * *

><p>'Kids, dinner,' Carole called out as she laid cutlery on the table.<p>

'Well this is going to be a barrel of laughs,' Burt said, walking up behind her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

'Well, when you've got three teenagers living in the same house, what do you expect?' She replied with a small laugh. 'I'm sure we'll make it through.'

'Hmm,' he hummed lightly, 'I don't think I handled my conversation with Kurt very well though.'

'Maybe not, but it's done now, and he'll forgive you soon enough. He knows you're only trying to do what's best.' They stopped talking as Kurt, Finn and Blaine all trailed into the kitchen and took their seats.

Kurt fastidiously refused to so much as ackowledge Burt's presence, while Blaine barely acknowledged anyone, staring down at his plate instead and nibbling at his food. Finn seemed oblivious to it all, talking loudly as he ate about football and Rachel, stopping every so often to ask Blaine if he could take his food if he wasn't going to eat it.

The shrill ring of the doorbell made everyone jump and Burt eased himself to his feet with a look to Carole. 'Expecting someone?'

'No-one that I can think of. Try and get rid of them quickly, sweetie, we're eating.' Burt gave a small nod in agreement.

Finn continued chatting away to no-one in particular, when a loud shout interrupted them.

'I know very well who you are now WHERE THE HELL IS MY SON?'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope it wasn't to shabby, it's definitely not as good as I'd like.<strong>

**I'll try my best to keep up more regular updates (I already have the next chapter started). Drop by and say hi/hound me for updates whenever you want here or on my tumblr (katiek723).**


	17. Chapter 16

**AN: Hey peoples. Hope you're all still with me :D The end of this chapter references some things previously mentioned in Blaine's dream and his flashback to his childhood. I thought I'd tell you so you have a chance to go back and remind yourselves if you need to, since I've been so horrendously crap at updating that you probably read those bits mooooooonths ago. **

**Also, if anyone's enjoying the current Cheerio!Kurt/Nerd!Blaine fad, I've been writing a little fic on Tumblr, that I'll be re-writing and posting here as a proper fic at some point when I have time (i.e. god-knows-when), so scooodle on over there and check it out if you're interested.**

* * *

><p>'WHERE THE HELL IS MY SON?'<p>

Blaine's cutlery clattered to the floor. His head snapped to the side, eyes wide and afraid, and his jaw dropped open in shock. Kurt looked between Blaine and the door, through which he could still hear angry conversation emanating from outside. It didn't take a second to work out who that voice belonged to.

'Blaine, it's alright.' Kurt put a hand on his shoulder, doing his best to reassure him, but he was shaken himself at seeing Blaine so clearly terrified by the sound of his own father's voice. 'We're all here for you, it's ok.'

Blaine just shook his head, trembling too hard to speak. Kurt turned to Carole for help, but she looked as lost as he did. She stood to make her way over to the two boys when the sound of footsteps storming through the house stopped her in her tracks and suddenly a dark-haired man in a crisp suit appeared, looming in the doorway.

At the sight of his father, Blaine shoved his seat away from the table, stumbling backwards.

'B..but, why…h..how are you h..here so soon?' He stammered out the question. 'They only c..c..called this morning?'

George Anderson stared down at his son, an unreadable expression on his face. It seemed at first as if he might not answer, but then he rolled back his shoulders, unclenched his fists and spoke in an overly-calm voice.

'Yesterday I received a phone-call from Mark at the DA's office, saying he was _sorry_ about my son. I, of course, had no idea what he was talking about.'

Kurt, Carole and Burt, who had now come to stand behind Mr Anderson in the doorway, all winced together; that was not an ideal way for the Anderons to learn about what had happened to Blaine. Finn just looked on, confused, still trying to work out exactly who this man was, and how everyone else seemed to know already.

'We…we tried to tell you.' Blaine said, almost under his breath. 'You didn't want to listen.'

'Well, that's not really true now, is it, Blaine,' Mr Anderson bit back. '_Y__ou _didn't try and tell us anything; Mrs Hummel here did. You, as usual, let someone else do your dirty work for you while you hid in the corner like some snivelling child.' He was practically snarling now, all pretence at civility gone.

'Hey, that's out of line,' Burt burst out, pushing his way into the kitchen to stand between Mr Anderson and Blaine. 'You have no right to talk to him like that.'

'I have every right,' Mr Anderson shouted and Blaine flinched back at the sound of it. 'I've known Blaine a hell of lot longer than you have and this isn't the first time he's run away from his problems or put himself before anyone else.'

'Put himself…? Are you serious?' Kurt replied, incredulous. 'Blaine was the one who got attacked, who else should we be thinking about?'

'Oh, I don't know. How about the fact that I had to find this out from a colleague. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was? I have to work with these people, god knows what they think.'

'Are you even hearing yourself right now? Who cares if you were embarrassed? Your son was hurt, that's the only thing that matters,' Kurt tried to reason with him. He was rapidly beginning to see that it wouldn't do much good, but he was so incensed he couldn't stop himself. 'And for the last time, it wasn't Blaine's fault that you found out like that. We tried to tell you, you were the ones that wouldn't listen.'

'Look, I didn't come here to argue with a _child_.' He spat the word out, as if 'child' was the least of the insulting things he was really thinking about him. 'Blaine, get your things. We're leaving.'

Blaine automatically moved towards the door, but Kurt's arm shot out in front of him, blocking his exit.

'He's not going anywhere,' he all but growled at Mr Anderson, whose eyes narrowed menacingly in response. He looked for a moment as if he might march forward and physically drag Blaine from the room, but one glance round at Finn and Burt standing there with furious looks on their faces and he reconsidered, taking a step back instead.

'Fine, then I think I'll be making a quick phone call to the police. How long do you think you get for false imprisonment?' He said, looking between Burt and Carole with a smirk on his face.

'How is it false imprisonment, he wants to be here,' Finn joined in the fight, having finally worked out what exactly was going on. Blaine gave a shaky nod in agreement.

'Maybe,' Mr Anderson replied, unfazed, 'but he's a minor, and I am his father. If I say he can't stay here then he can't.'

'That's bull,' Finn shouted. Carole put a calming hand on his shoulder, knowing the situation could get rapidly out of control.

'It's ok.' Blaine said quietly.

'No it's not, Blaine.' Kurt stood in front of him and brushed a stray curl out of his face, ignoring Mr Anderson's disgusted snort at the gesture. 'You shouldn't have to go anywhere you don't want to.'

'It's fine, Kurt,' Blaine whispered. 'I don't ever want to get your parents in trouble, they've done so much for me.' Kurt shook his head, tears in his eyes.

'It isn't fair.' His voice was quiet and child-like. 'I don't want you to leave. He's horrible.' Despite everything, Blaine felt himself chuckle lightly as Kurt stuck out his lip in a pout.

'They're not that bad. Really,' he insisted at Kurt's disbelieving look, 'it's just different. Not as many hugs, that's all.' He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. 'Besides, they're my family. I should be with them.' Kurt didn't say anything, _couldn't _say anything. He looked over to his dad, imploring him to stop Mr Anderson from taking Blaine away, but Burt stared back helplessly, hands raised as if to say '_What can I do?'. _Kurt could feel the petulant desire to shout at him, '_Do something, do anything,' _but he knew it was unfair. His dad hated this situation as much as they all did, but he didn't have bags of money or fancy lawyers on stand-by like Mr Anderson. Even if he was never charged with anything, just to be accused of something like that could destroy his business. He just couldn't risk it.

Taking their silence as acceptance, Blaine stepped towards his father, but couldn't bring himself to look him in the face. He spoke in a flat, resigned voice, staring down at his feet.

'I'll get my things together.'

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, Blaine was stood at the door, a duffel-bag at his feet. He didn't have much, since he still hadn't been home since <em>that <em>night, relying instead on borrowing from Kurt and Finn for the past week. Burt stepped forwards, studiously ignoring the inpatient noises Mr Anderson was making.

'You call us any time, kid, you hear me? I don't want a day to go by that we don't hear from you.' Blaine nodded his head. 'I'm serious. Day or night, any time you need. And how about you pop round the garage some time? There might even be a job in it for you once your ribs and wrist are all healed up.'

'I'd really like that,' Blaine answered with a genuine smile. Burt patted him on the shoulder, before gruffly clearing his throat and pulling him into a tight hug.

'You're family now,' he whispered quietly, so that no-one else could hear, 'and us Hummels look out for each other.' He didn't get an answer, but from the tears seeping through his shirt, he knew Blaine had heard him. He stepped back with one last pat on the shoulder, giving Carole space to come forward and embrace Blaine warmly, and then Finn.

Finally Kurt was standing opposite Blaine, tears flowing freely down his face. He couldn't believe this was happening, it just wasn't fair. Blaine had been through so much already and he was _just _beginning to open up about it; to throw him back into that awful, hateful environment was devastating.

'Hey, don't cry,' Blaine whispered, stepping forwards and wiping gently at Kurt's cheeks. 'Please. I hate seeing you upset because of me.'

Kurt sniffed back his tears; he couldn't believe Blaine was the one comforting him at a time like this.

'You're beautiful, Blaine,' he said, before he could stop himself, for once not caring if he embarrassed himself or gave away his silly crush. 'I want you to know that. No matter what anyone tells you; whether it's your parents or James or just…just anyone. They're wrong, they're so wrong. You are beautiful and smart an…'

And suddenly Blaine's lips were pressed to his, so gentle and timid and chaste, but it was perfect. He gasped lightly at the unexpected kiss, before instinctively pressing forwards, hands tangling in Blaine's so, so soft hair. They broke apart, both staring at each other,shocked, before a hand clasped firmly around Blaine's wrist and he was wrenched away towards the open door. He stumbled after his father, trying not to trip over his own feet as he looked back one last time.

And then he was gone.

For a moment everything was still and silent, and then Kurt felt his knees give out. He would have fallen to the floor if not for Burt's arms wrapped tightly around him, keeping him upright. He grabbed the familiar flannel shirt in front of him and sobbed into his father's chest.

* * *

><p>Blaine felt numb. He honestly couldn't believe this was all happening. It was stupid, he knew that; his parents were always going to return, he was always going to have to go back, he had just managed to push the thought so far back in his mind that he hadn't prepared at all, hadn't built back up that outer-skin that helped make his parents' words slide right off him.<p>

He heard a _click_ and realised with a jolt that the car had stopped and his father was staring at him. He thought for a moment he might say something, but then he turned away and climbed out of the car. Blaine followed suit, trailing behind him.

It felt like an eternity since he'd stepped foot in this house, but Blaine was suddenly aware of the fact that he hadn't thought of it as _home _for a very long time.

'Give me your phone.'

'What?' Blaine span around as his father's voice intruded on his thoughts. 'Why?' His eyebrows drew together in confusion.

'Now, Blaine.' He held his hand out, impatiently, and it was clear that he expected no further discussion on the matter, but the thought of handing over his phone, his connection to Kurt and Burt and Carole, to that wonderful feeling of belonging and _healing_ was almost too much to contemplate and Blaine took a step backwards. He only partially succeeded in controlling his flinch at the anger that flashed across his father's face at his hesitation.

'No Dad, please…I'

'Blaine,' he cut him off, 'you're home now, and you need to put all of this nonsense behind you. You won't do that if you're constantly on the phone with those people.'

Blaine could feel his own anger rising. He knew he should stop, shouldn't push his father any further, but he was honestly passed caring. 'Those people? They have names, dad. Kurt and Burt and Carole and Finn and they all care about me more than you or mum ever have.'

'Oh I'm sure they _care about you,_'he said with a nasty sneer, as if it had secret, dirty connotations. 'But it's done now. You've been under their influence for far too long.'

'Under their influence? They've been helping me'

'No, they've been indulging you and it ends NOW. If this whole mess tells you anything it's that we were right from the start, your mother and I. We warned you what would happen if you carried on with this nonsense, but you wouldn't…'

'Nonsense! What nonsense? Being gay? That nonsense?' Blaine was shouting now, his face twisted with all the anger he'd held inside for so long.

'Yes, Blaine. We told you, it's disgusting and it's perverted, but you wouldn't listen. You knew best, and now look where you are?'

'This didn't happen because I'm gay.' Blaine voice had dropped to a whisper, but trembled with intensity.

'Oh, and if you'd been on a date with a girl you'd still have ended up getting fucked in a parking lot?' Blaine let out a strangled cry as his father's cruel words crashed over him. He felt all of the fight drop out of him as quickly as it had appeared, and he sank back against the wall. 'That's what being gay is, Blaine. It's sick men fucking boys in dirty alley ways. You let this happen, but now we're taking the choice away from you.' He lunged forwards grabbing for the phone, and Blaine was powerless to stop him, cowering against the wall, trembling under the weight of this tirade.

His father gave him one last, disdainful look, before turning on his heel and walking away. Blaine stayed where he was for a few shaky seconds, before suddenly scrambling up the stairs and running into his room, slamming the door shut and locking it behind him. He could feel his heart pounding as if it would burst through his chest at any second. Blood rushed in his ears and he could barely see through the tears that streamed down his face.

He tried to remember Burt's words and picture Kurt's face, tried to grasp at the small semblance of strength they had built together over the last week, but it was slipping away, torn to shreds by his father's vicious words and all his old demons he had tried so hard to forget. He groped against the wall, feeling for the light switch and felt a familiar comfort engulf him as he was plunged into darkness. And then he was on the floor, crawling on hands and knees to the corner of the room, to his old sanctuary, a scared little boy hiding in the dark.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm like, really really mean, aren't I?<strong>

**Sorry for mistakes, but I am le tired, and have to go to bed. **


	18. Chapter 17

**AN: T****oo tired for an AN. Enjoy...**

* * *

><p>'Dad, we have to do something, it's been 3 days!' Kurt threw his hands in the air as he paced up and down the living room.<p>

'What do you want me to do, Kurt?' Burt spoke with a resigned air. It was far from the first time they had had this discussion and it felt like they were going round in circles. 'I spoke to Mr Sanderson; legally we have no case. There's no law against being an arsehole or even a bad parent. If he's not hurting Blaine physically then there's nothing we can do.

'But that's rubbish, dad. He _is_ hurting him. He tells him he's disgusting and a disappointmet, makes him feel worthless. How is that not hurting him?'

'You think I don't know that?' Burt's voice rose in volume and he paused to keep his anger in check. 'Trust me, Kurt, I hate this as much as you do.'

Kurt continued his restless pacing for a few minutes more, before letting down a tired huff and sinking down on the sofa next to Burt, who slung his arm around his shoulders.

'Can't we at least go over there and make sure he's ok? Please, dad. Please,' Kurt begged, before dissolving into sobs. He buried his face in his hands and Burt sighed heavily, so frustrated that he had so little power to fix this, and ran his hand up and down Kurt's back in a fruitless attempt at comfort.

They had been running through this routine on a loop for the past three days; racking their brains for a way to get around the ridiculous law that was blocking their every attempt to help Blaine, until Kurt eventually exhausted his ability to keep his composure and either raged about the unfairness of it or simply cried out his frustration.

'Kurt, we have to be smart about this,' Burt tried to reason. 'What makes you think they'll let us anywhere near him if we just pitch up at their house? They could call the police the second we set foot on their property.'

When Kurt didn't reply, but instead continued to cry quietly into his hands, Burt pulled him tightly into his side, bringing his free hand up to brush a stray hair back from his face. He hated everything about this situation; hated the thought of Blaine going through god-only-knows what kind of hell with no-one to turn to, hated that the Andersons and James Cooper were getting away with what they'd done with no consequences and hated what it was doing to his Kurt.

From the moment he was born Burt had known that he would do anything to protect his son and see him be happy, even if that meant changing himself and his entire way of thinking. That didn't mean it had been easy; he had struggled for a long time to come to terms with the fact that his son was gay, longer than anyone other than his beautiful Ellie would ever know, and even then he had still always thought that if he were ever to be actually confronted with the evidence of it first-hand, to see it for himself, he would be…at the very least uncomfortable. He had been wrong.

Seeing Blaine kiss Kurt that day he had felt nothing but pride for his bravery and strength and it was plain to see that his son was utterly, undeniably happy. It had been nothing short of beautiful. It had been right.

'Let's do it,' Burt announced suddenly, pushing himself up from the sofa.

'What?' Kurt asked with a sniff, looking up in time to see his father grab a coat off the banister and head for the door.

'Let's go. Come on, Kurt, before I come to my senses and change my mind. Let's go get our boy.'

* * *

><p>'Wow!' Burt spoke first, breaking their stunned silence.<p>

'Yeh. Wow,' Kurt echoed his surprise. 'He said it was big, but just…wow.'

They sat, staring through the windscreen at the house in front of them, although mansion would be far more accurate a word. Kurt didn't think he'd ever seen a house so big, at least outside of television or films. There were four pillars framing the entrance and an immense glass window loomed above the entrance. It was magnificent.

'Do you think they have servants?' Kurt whispered, eyes wide as he took it all in.

'No-one has servants nowadays, kiddo,' Burt laughed in response, although he didn't look quite convinced himself. 'Come on, no point sitting here like lemons, let's do this,' he said, climbing out of the car.

'But what are we actually going to do?' Kurt asked, trailing behind him as they made their way down the gravel driveway. 'Just ring the doorbell? Like you said, it's hardly likely they'll actually let us in.'

'Well, we don't have many other options,' Burt said, 'unless you fancy shimmying up that drain pipe over there.'

Kurt eyed the 4-storey house thoughtfully.

'Don't even think about it, kiddo. We're doing this the right way. Hey, maybe we'll even get lucky and Blaine will be home alone.'

They walked down the rest of the driveway in nervous silence, until they were standing directly in front of the door. Kurt glanced sideways at Burt, who gave an encouraging nod, and stepped forwards to the ring the bell.

They waited.

'Should I…?' Kurt asked his father, who simply shrugged in response.

He waited a few seconds more, before reaching out to ring the doorbell again.

This couldn't be it. They couldn't have finally come here to actually do something only to have no-one be in. The universe couldn't be that cruel.

Kurt turned away with a frustrated growl and stormed off towards their car, when a shout from Burt drew him back.

'Hey, wait. I can hear someone.' Kurt rushed back to join him. They listened intently as a voice drifted across the door, getting louder and louder.

'…don't know…possibly want…this time…'

Kurt swallowed, his palms suddenly cold and sweaty by his side. He honestly hadn't thought this far ahead, hadn't figured out what he would actually do once he was here and faced with Blaine's parents. He didn't have time to make a plan, as the door flew open to reveal a tall, slender woman, who was fixing an earring and turned away from them, still shouting to whoever was upstairs.

When she finally turned to face them both Kurt and Burt were stunned at quite how elegant she appeared. She was clearly getting ready to go out, dressed in a floor length dress and dazzling jewellery, but what struck them the most was that she was, without a shadow of a doubt, Blaine's mother. Dark, shining curls framed a delicate, heart-shaped face and her hazel eyes and plump lips could have been taken directly from Blaine.

'Can I help you?' She asked in clipped tones, clearly eager to get the conversation over with as quickly as possible so she could get back to her evening, and any resemblance to Blaine vanished abruptly.

'Uh…yes,' Burt, responded, equally as curtly, 'we want to see Blaine.'

'Blaine?' she said as if she had to think for a minute to work out who he meant. 'And just who are you exactly?'

'I'm Burt Hummel and this is my…' her eyes widened comically and she moved to slam the door shut in their faces, but Burt snapped his arm out in front of him, holding it open.

'Hey, hey come on, come on,' he said, trying to keep a non-confrontational tone, 'we're not trying to cause any trouble. We just want to check he's ok.'

'Blaine is none of your concern any more. You need to leave.' She punctuated her words with another push of the door, but Burt was unmoving behind it.

'How can you be so heartless? We just want to see him,' Kurt cried out.

'Annabelle, what on earth is taking so… You!' Mr Anderson stormed down the rest of the stairs and pushed past his wife so he was face to face with Burt. 'What the hell are you doing at my house?'

'Look, all we want is to see Blaine, check that he's alright.'

'He's in his own home with his own parents, of course he's alright,' Mr Anderson shouted, ignoring the snort from both Burt and Kurt. 'Now get out of here before I call the police and have you arrested for trespassing.'

'You know what, you do that,' Burt shouted back, 'and I'll set them straight on you for child abuse.'

'How dare you,' Annabelle Anderson joined in. 'We have never laid a hand on Blaine.'

'There are more ways to hurt someone than just hitting them. But to be honest, it doesn't really matter either way. How do you think it's going to look, having the police storming into your house because you've been accused of abusing your own kid? Think you'll keep that one quiet? I can bloody well promise you won't, 'cause I'll be shouting it out from the damn rooftops. What will that do for business, do ya think?

Mr Anderson was literally shaking with fury, while his wife was dabbing away at tears, careful of course not to ruin her immaculately applied make-up.

'You know what. Go talk to the little shit, see if I care,' Mr Anderson growled out. 'But we're going out in 15 minutes and you better damn well be gone by then.' With that he stormed away from the door, grabbing his wife by the wrist and pulling her along behind him.

Burt turned to Kurt, stunned.

'Did that just…?'

'Dad, come on,' Kurt said, grinning wildly, 'before they change their minds.' They stepped through the doorway, then stopped abruptly, realising they had no idea where Blaine would be, and could hardly call back the Andersons for help.

'Um…I think Blaine mentioned his room was on the top floor?' Kurt said with a shrug. 'Shall we just…?'

'We got nothing else to go on,' Burt replied, heading for the staircase.

They had made it up two flights of stairs, before the faint sound of music drifted towards them. A huge grin split across Kurt's face.

'Follow the Katy Perry, always follow the Katy Perry,' he said excitedly, before running up the next flight of stairs and in the direction of the music to what could only be Blaine's rom. He knocked loudly on the door and pushed it open without waiting for a reply, far too excited for manners.

He froze in his tracks, Burt stumbling straight into his back.

Blaine was sat at his desk, shirt and bow tie neatly in place, hair slick with gel, looking over his shoulder at whoever had disturbed him.

'Oh, hi guys,' he said with a nod, before turning back to his work.

Kurt's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. He looked to Burt, who was as unsure as he was.

'Uh…Blaine? We havn't heard from you in 3 days. We didn't know if you were alright or not.'

'Oh, yeh sorry about that,' Blaine replied, not looking away from his computer, 'I just really need to concentrate on my work right now. You know how it is.'

'It's the summer holidays Blaine. You don't have any work.'

'I need to take as many AP classes as I can if I'm going to get into Princeton, so…'

'What? Blaine what the hell is going on?'

'Look, I'm trying to concentrate on my work right now, so if you wouldn't mind…' He gestured to the door behind them, before turning up the volume on his music.

Burt could see that Kurt was about to snap and stepped forward before he had a chance to, sitting down on the side of Blaine's bed.

'Blaine.'

He didn't receive a response, except for an almost imperceptible tightening of Blaine's jaw and so reached over and turned off the music, before resting his hand lightly on top of Blaine's, who immediately tensed at the contact.

'Blaine, your dad dragged you out of our house in tears, we didn't hear from you for 3 days and now you're sitting here as if nothing's happened. As if getting in to Princeton is the only thing you're concerned about.'

'And since when was it Princet…'

'Kurt!' Kurt slammed his lips shut at his father's glare, holding his hands up in a promise not to interrupt again.

'Please, Blaine, talk to me. Explain to me what's going on here.'

It seemed for a moment as if Blaine still wouldn't answer, but eventually he let out a shaky breath before speaking.

'I just…' Burt had to lean forwards to hear him. 'I really need…I got distracted before and now I need to get back to what's important. I need to think about my future.'

'You didn't get distracted, Blaine, you got hurt. It takes time to heal from something like that, and that's okay. It's okay to need time.'

Blaine shook his head, eyes screwed tightly shut.

'I can't. Please, I…this is my home and this…this is who I need to be to survive here so just please…please.' His last plea was a desperate, hoarse whisper, dragged from his throat.

'No, Blaine, you shouldn't have to do this, it's not right.' Kurt came forward to stand next to him. 'You should be able to talk about….'

'NO!' Blaine shouted, slamming his hand down on the desk. 'No. I think you should leave now.'

'Come on, Blaine.'

'Please, I want you to go.'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, lookey what I did. I broke Blaine. Do ya hate me?<strong>

**This chapter was like pulling teeth, so I hope it came out ok. It's shorter than I intended, cause I cut the end off to go at the beginning of the next chapter instead, so sorry for that. **


	19. Chapter 18

**AN: Hey guys, I'm really really sorry this is so late, and also it's pathetically short. Basically, I've had these 1000 words written for about a month, and just havn't been able to finish the chapter off at all. **

**Someone basically suggested I post what I have, and maybe people's reactions to it will help get me back into it, and break my writer's block. **

**So whilst I normally despise anyone that asks (who am I kidding, _begs) _for feedback and reviews, I would really appreciate it just this once (obviously I appreciate it all the time, but you know what I mean), because I love this story so much and I really want to get going with it again. I feel so guilty for making people wait so long.**

**Also, I'm considering getting a beta, not just to check over it, but someone I can bounce my ideas off, discuss it with when I don't know how to put my ideas into words...anyone interested? The only reason I'm hesitant is that I'm very bad at compromising and I don't want to offend anyone...**

* * *

><p>Blaine stared hard at his computer screen. He tried to type, but his fingers felt heavy and the words blurred in front of him. He could hear their footsteps on the stairs as if they were right next to him and the bang of the door was so loud it reverberated through his bones, setting up a fine tremble that he couldn't stop.<p>

His skin felt like it was burning, prickling away just beneath the surface. He tried to focus on something, anything else, but it was no good; all he could hear was the crunch of steps on gravel, the opening and closing of car doors, the soft purr as it drove away. _They _drove away. They were going, no, they were gone. He had sent them away. They had come to help him, _save_ _him_, and he had sent them away.

He let out a cry of frustration and before he knew what he was doing he had picked up the alarm clock in front of him and hurled it across the room. He startled as it smashed into the wall, springing apart with a crash.

It was fine, he was fine.

His hands clenched into tight fists by his side, nails pressing into soft flesh, stinging and harsh, but it wasn't enough to keep him together, keep his thoughts on the right path. He wanted to push it all away, forget their voices, forget their faces and go back to before. Why had they even had to come in the first place? They were ruining everything.

He was crying outright now, chest heaving with the effort of it, struggling to keep up with his ragged, heaving breaths. In fact, his whole body was shaking, a trembling that started in his fingrtips and seemed to gain fervour as it spread up his arms and over his body.

He could feel himself becoming light-headed, vision blurring, and he knew he was heading towards a full blown panic attack, that he was going to pass out if he didn't calm himself down, but he just couldn't stop it. He had been holding on to all of this for three days; three days of being stuck in this awful place with these awful people who didn't give a damn about what was going on inside his head, and he just couldn't keep up the act any longer.

When his father first brought him home he had been so desperate not to lose everything that the Hummels had given him. He had repeated Burt's words over and over in his head, stared into the eyes of his memory of Kurt's face, imagined, no _remembered, _ the feel of his lips and the soft gasp of surprise he had felt trembling against his own.

But in the end it hadn't been enough. In the end the constant pressure from his parents; the insults, the degredation, the disgust had been too strong for his fragile, new-formed sence of self-worth to withstand. He had bowed and bent under their demands and fashioned hiself into the model son they wanted him to be, just as he had done his whole life.

It was just easier that way.

Except that it wasn't. Not anymore. Not now. Everything had changed and he could no longer slip into this persona he had created and let it take over. He had to hold it, force it to stay in place and it took a strength he just didn't seem to have anymore.

And then the reality of it really hit him.

They had left. They had actually left.

Of course they had.

He had told them to, screamed it at them in fact. What had he expected? That they would see past the clothes, the hair, the whole damn facade? That they would fight longer than five minutes for him?

Blaine shocked even himself with the angry shout that erupted from his chest. How could they have given up so easily? Why hadn't they stayed and fought for him? They had promised him, outright promised him that they weren't like everyone else in his useless, worthless life. That they were in it for the long-haul, that they actually cared.

And the worst part was that he had actually believed them.

* * *

><p>'It's hopeless, dad. It's like they've brainwashed him or something. What are we going to do?'<p>

No-one answered. Burt just shook his head sadly and Carole brought her hands to her face to wipe away the tears that had begun to fall. Finn moved around the table to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

'Why can't we just take him away?' Kurt asked, not for the first time. 'Once he's away from them he'll stop being like that. He'll be himself again. We just need to get him away.'

'It's not that simple, honey,' Carole replied, sensing that Burt was tiring with the constant battle, and trying to take some of the brunt of Kurt's anger and frustration herself. She could see the weary set of Burt's face, the deep frown lines etched around his eyes. He had been so stressed and overwrought since this whole mess had started and it was visibly taking it's hadn't admitted her fears to anyone but herself, but she was scared about what this was doing to her husband, if the emotional toll would soon turn physical. She swallowed past the lump in her front before continuing. 'Firstly, it's completely illegal. You're lucky they even let you in this time, they're not likely to again. You can't just walk onto someone's property and take someone against their will.'

'But it's not against his will,' Kurt burst out, bringing his fist down hard against the table. 'How can you say that? You know he doesn't want to be there.'

'Hey, hey, 'Burt grabbed Kurt's wrist hard. 'You don't get aggressive towards her_. __Ever.'_

His tone held no room for argument, but it didn't need to. Kurt looked down, shame colouring his face.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean...'

'It's ok, love. I know. And I know that Blaine would be better off here, and would say that himself if he was thinking straight. I just meant that...well, with how he is at the moment, we can't gaurantee he would come with us if we tried, or that he wouldn't take his parents side if the police did get brought into it. We just can't take that risk, not with your dad owning his own business. You could lose everything.'

'We.'

Carole looked at him, questioning.

'_We_ could lose everything,' Kurt said. 'We're a family, it's we.'

Carole couldn't help the tears that welled in her eyes, and reached across the table the grasp Kurt's finger in her own. She didn't say anything, but the message was clear. They sat like that for some time, Burt, Kurt Carole and Finn, the four of them together as a family. They were just missing one of their own.

Kurt closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He honestly didn't know what was happening with his emotions any more. He had thought himself in love with Blaine for so long, had felt his heart lift with every slightest signal of reciprocation and had cried with the rejection, but he could see now that he hadn't even known what love was. He'd been a silly kid looking for a storybook romance with some imaginary Disney prince he'd built Blaine up to be in his mind.

It hadn't even occurred to him that there was more to Blaine's story, that he had secrets and troubles hidden beneath his confident exterior.

He'd been so single-minded, so selfish. Maybe if he'd just looked a little harder, really been there for Blaine instead of just trying to pursue his own agenda he might have noticed something was wrong, or Blaine might even have felt able to open up to him.

And maybe if Blaine hadn't felt so insecure he wouldn't have so easily fallen for James's charm. At that thought Kurt felt his throat constrict and his chest burn. He just couldn't bear the thought that he could somehow have done something to save Blaine from what had happened to him.

'I need some fresh air,' he announced suddenly, pushing his chair away from the table. 'I'm going for a walk.'

He stumbled towards the door, ignoring the calls from Burt and Carole, swiping angrily at the tears that were obscuring his vision. It was all too much; the hate, the fear, the desperate hopelessness of it all. It wasn't fair, none of it was fair, but he couldn't do a damn thing to make it right.

He threw the front door open violently, ready to pace off in whichever direction his feet took him, but instead found himself careening smack-bang into the man standing on their porch. He fell backwards, hand shooting out to the doorframe to stop him falling completely to the floor.

'Who are you?' He said roughly, too shocked for civility.

'Oh, sorry sorry,' the man replied, taken aback by Kurt's abrupt question and scowling expression. He stepped forwards, having stumbled back himself under the impact of their collision. He chanced a nervous smile, smoothing down his shirt in a way Kurt found oddly familiar before holding his and out.

'Hi, I'm Cooper Anderson. I want to help my brother.'

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><p><strong>AN: So, yeh...I know it's very all over the place...lots of different emotions al smushed together one after the other..I was trying to get into their headspace right now...just realy confused, over-emotional, flitting beterrn scared, angry, self-hating etc...Don't know if it worked or was just confusing. <strong>

**But as I said...just this once, I'm gonna lose all my morals and dignity and beg for feedback...constructive criticism, what you liked, where you want it to go...anything to try and break my block...and drop me a line if you're interested in beta-ing**

**ps. would anyone believe me if I said I'd been planning to introduce Blaine's brother since long before they announced him? Cos I have. That's how long I've had this written and been stuck. He was gonna be an awesome twist/OC. And now it's just...standard. Oh well.**


	20. Chapter 19

**HUMUNGOUS thanks to Rory46 and amethyst-unicorn, who both let me whinge at them when I got stuck and generally spew ideas at them until something hit the mark. Just having someone there to bounce thoughts off of really helped get this chapter finished. **

**Also massive thanks to everyone that gave lovely, encouraging reviews and also gave me their thoughts and suggestions after the last chapter.**

** Full AN at the end, you've all waited long enough for this...**

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><p>Cooper sank back into his armchair, mug of coffee clasped firmly in his hands. He forced himself not to look down, to keep his head high and maintain eye contact with Burt, Carole and Kurt, who sat opposite him, sandwiched together on the sofa.<p>

He felt like a teenager meeting his girlfriend's family for the first time.

He'd known this would be hard, that making these people he'd never met before trust him wouldn't be an easy sell; in fact, considering they were the only people that seemed to be looking out for Blaine, he was hoping it would be that way. But still, he hadn't expected this.

They hadn't even heard of him. Blaine, his baby brother, had never even mentioned his name. His very existence was a complete surprise to them.

Not that he really blamed him. If he was truly honest with himself, he'd been a terrible big brother to Blaine. Well, actually that wasn't quite true. It wasn't so much that he'd been a bad big brother; he just hadn't been much of a brother at all. And Blaine had really needed a brother in his life. All those times his parents had pushed him aside and shot him down, when his friends had turned on him, beat the smile off his face and the joy from his heart; he had needed someone, just one person in his corner telling him they had his back and that it was going to be ok, and Cooper had turned away with a disinterested shrug.

But he was a changed man now. 26-years-old, he'd travelled, been to college and now lived in the city running his own business. He was ready to step up and do what he should have done, be who he should have been a long time ago.

When his old school-friend, Jack, had called him up out of the blue, told him that he'd seen Blaine come in to his offices to meet with a prosecutor and done some digging into the case, he'd felt numb. He literally couldn't wrap his head around the concept of someone hurting his little brother that way.

Calling his parents had been even worse. He knew what they were like, but he'd thought that even they would have enough heart to want to comfort their son after something like that. He'd been wrong, of course. His father had ranted about his work and embarrassment and 'Kurt fucking Hummel', but not to worry because he'd 'sorted it', dragged Blaine off and locked him up like some twisted, fucked up Cinderella tale

And so he'd done his own detective work, snooped around a bit into his brother's life and this Hummel-kid that had pissed off his father so much. It hadn't taken long; small towns apparently weren't too good at keeping things confidential.

And now here he was, sitting in front of a group of people who had taken Blaine in when he was nowhere to be seen, trying to convince them to let him back into his life. He was beginning to realize that this wasn't going to be an easy fix; a pat on the head, 'there you are, all better now' and back to his old life. Not that he had really thought it would be, he just hadn't thought about it much at all if he was being honest. He'd been so encompassed with rage and righteousness and so desperate to at last do the right thing that he'd packed his bags and made his way to Lima before he had a chance to make any kind of a plan.

But all that was going to have to change. He wanted to do this right, whatever it took. He was in it for the long haul.

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><p>Kurt didn't know what to think.<p>

When this gorgeous, Hollywood-esque man had first introduced himself as 'Cooper, Blaine's brother', with a look that made it clear he expected to see recognition on his face, Kurt had thought he must have hit his head when he fell backwards.

Then he'd become angry. Blaine didn't have a brother, so who the hell was this guy? He _must_ have been sent by the Andersons. He'd slammed the door in his face before the thought was even fully formed in his head.

When the doorbell rang a few seconds later he didn't move to answer it, just stood staring in a state of shock. This had to be some sort of trick. But why? What on earth could they gain from sending someone pretending to be Blaine's brother? They had Blaine, they'd taken him. They'd already won.

Kurt heard footsteps padding round the corner, just as the bell rang a second time.

'Kurt? I thought you'd gone.' Burt questioned.

'I…I did. ..what?'

Burt gave him a confused look, before reaching past him to open the door.

'Look, I know….oh, hi,' Cooper said, noticing Burt. 'I'm Cooper.' He held out his hand for Burt to shake. 'Blaine's brother.'

'Oh, nice to meet you,' Burt said, reaching out to take Cooper's hand, 'I didn't know Blaine had a brother.'

'That's because he doesn't.' Kurt shouted out, pushing between the two. 'Blaine doesn't have a brother. I don't know who you are , but you can just leave, ok. Just leave us alone.

It had taken a few frantic minutes of Cooper insisting that he really was who he said he was, rifling through his bag for ID, before Carole had appeared and suggested that wouldn't this be much better settled inside with coffee and cake than out on the front doorstep.

So here they sat, sandwiched together on the sofa, staring at this man like it was some kind of interview. Or trial.

He accepted now that this was, in fact, Blaine's brother. He had to, after Cooper had logged onto facebook and shown them photos of himself with their parents and even a few with a chubby, curly-haired baby that could only be Blaine.

He just couldn't get his head around it.

Why wouldn't Blaine tell him he had a brother? Sure they hadn't known each other that long, but he'd thought they were close, best friends, and recently maybe even more. Kurt had shared countless details about his family; his worries about his dad's health, how much Finn annoyed him sometimes, and god, they'd even laughed about his old crush (not that he ever wanted to think about that again). And now that he thought about it, it wasn't even just his brother that Blaine had neglected to tell him about. He hadn't really ever talked about his family at all. He had just brushed over it every time it came up, made some sweeping, superficial comment and never actually gone into any detail.

The whole time Kurt had thought he just had an ordinary, boring even, home life, when really he was hiding so much; his parents, their hatred and their cruelty, and now apparently a brother as well. God only knew what else was lurking beneath the surface.

Had he really been that self-absorbed, that wrapped up in his own problems that he hadn't even bothered to ask Blaine about his? Sure, he'd had some honest to god troubles to work the bullying, Karofsky and his dad's heart attack, but when he thought about all those times he'd sat there with Blaine and moaned about his dad making him to go to Friday night dinner, or not giving him extra allowance for some latest fashion must-have, he felt physically sick. Blaine had commiserated and comforted and never once let on that he was dealing with his own terrible struggles without anyone to help.

The clink of a coffee mug on the glass table startled Kurt out of his thoughts and he realized he had completely zoned out and missed what was going on around him.

'But why would they even agree to that?' He heard Burt say, and turned to see him leant forwards, elbows resting heavily on his knees.

Kurt's moved his head from side to side as he tried to catch up with the conversation.

'Look,' Cooper said, 'my parents…they don't want Blaine there, not really. To be completely honest, they never did. He was an ac…he's 10 years younger than me, he certainly wasn't planned and he's always just been…an inconvenience, I guess.

'Hey, hey, it's not my thoughts,' he said, holding up his hands as Kurt practically growled at him across the table. 'It's just how they see him, how they've always treated him. They didn't want him then and they don't want him now.'

'Then why are they even doing this?' Kurt asked, throwing his hands in the air, collapsing down on himself a second later under the weight of his frustration.

'They're only fighting this hard out of spite,' Cooper answered after a moment of thought, 'you insulted them and pissed them off and now they're making Blaine pay to get back at you. That and they're trying to maintain their image. How can they play off their son moving in with a mechanic and his openly gay son at their 'Conservative Luncheons'?' He made air quotes as he said it, his distaste for them more than clear.

'So what are you suggesting?' Burt cut in. 'Sell the garage and shove Kurt back in the closet? Even if they were options, which they're not,' he said pointedly, looking over to Kurt, 'the way you say it, they're not going to let Blaine move in here no matter what we do, so what's the point?'

'Well,' Cooper said, suddenly nervous, eyes flitting between the room's occupants, 'I was thinking that, well, maybe he could move in with me?'

He was met with wide eyes and open mouths.

'I know, I know it's a long shot,' he rushed to explain himself, 'but I think I could sell it to them in a way that works for them. I mean, your son running off to live with strangers sounds terrible, but sending him to stay with his big brother in the city…learning how to be an independent man and all that…they could talk themselves up to be some great, new-age parents or something.'

'But surely the 'gay thing' is still going to be an issue,' Burt said with an apologetic look at Kurt. 'Sure they can talk themselves up to their friends, but they're not going to be okay with him living with someone who isn't actively homophobic. I haven't known them long, but even I can tell that's going to be a deal-breaker for them.'

At Cooper's sheepish look and loss of words, Burt's eyes narrowed with suspicion. A tingle spread up the back of his neck and he was suddenly very, very wary.

'Cooper…' he said with a warning glare.

'Look, I…'

'No,' Burt barked, hand snapping out in front of him. 'No. You don't walk in here out of nowhere, Blaine never having even mentioned your existence, ask us to help you get custody, god-damn custody of him, and not tell us everything. All the secrets, everything.'

Cooper leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes for a few moments.

'Ok, ok,' he conceded, 'but you have to just hear me out, ok? Just, let me finish before you…' He waved his hand in the air, leaving his sentence unfinished, but it was clear what he meant. They weren't going to like what he had to say.

Burt nodded, lips pursed.

Out of nowhere, the living room door crashed open, slamming against the wall, and all heads snapped round towards the noise.

'Ha. No way, that's not even…' Finn paused, mouth agape, as he noticed his audience. 'Uh…Rachel, I gotta go. Call you back.' He hung up the phone, pocketing it and shuffling his feet awkwardly. 'Soooo…who's the new guy?'

'Cooper, Blaine's brother,' Cooper said, with a smile and a nod.

'Oh, cool. I didn't know Blaine had a brother.'

Kurt rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'Finn, could you maybe give us a minute,' Burt said.

'Hey, that's not fai…'

'Finn, please,' Burt stated with more authority. 'We'll explain everything later, but please, just give us a minute.'

Finn clenched his jaw, but didn't answer back. He turned and left the room without another word.

'So, where were we?' Cooper raised his eyes with a light-hearted humour.

'You were about to cut the crap and tell us the truth,' Burt bit out, clearly frustrated and fed up and not in the mood for jokes.

'Yeah, ok,' Cooper sighed, deflated. 'I… I grew up with my mom and dad. Just me, my parents, the Ohio State Republican Party and the good Lord, Jesus Christ. How much diversity do you think I was exposed to? Who did I have encouraging me to be open-minded and teaching me to accept people the way they were? I'm not trying to make excuses, I'm really not, but I grew up believing what I was told to believe and acting how I was told to act. Which, as it turns out, was like to total fucking douchebag.'

Kurt snorted in agreement.

'I wasn't a good big brother to Blaine. Mostly I just ignored him. I certainly didn't step in when mom and dad or kids at school gave him trouble.

'When I went off to college, I met so many people and got exposed to so many things I could never even have dreamed of. I took a while, but I saw how limited my upbringing had been and I changed, I really did. Thing is, I was so eager to get away from my parents and that life that once I found my out I just sort of took it and ran. Didn't look back. If I ever did think about leaving Blaine behind to deal with it all on his own I pushed it to the back of my mind before I got too guilty.

There was a tense silence as everyone took in his words.

Burt brought his hand up to rub over his head, in what was now becoming a very familiar action.

He shook his head slowly.

'I don't think this is going to work,' he said sadly.

Cooper threw his hands up in frustration.

'It's the truth, honestly, why would I even be here if I didn't want to help?'

'I'm not saying I don't believe you, kid, but when was the last time you even saw Blaine?

'Well?' he pressed, when Cooper didn't respond.

'Three years ago,' he murmured sheepishly.

'You mean you didn't even come back after Sadie Hawkins?' Kurt burst out, incredulous, starting to rise out of his seat until Burt pressed a hand lightly against his chest, silencing him with a stern look.

'He's never mentioned you, literally not once. What's to say he'll even want to live with you? The last time he saw you, you were spouting the same homophobic bullshit as your parents. Why would he trust you? He's really vulnerable right now, he doesn't need us messing with his head any more than it already has been.'

'But what choice do we have? You're right, maybe he won't trust me right away, but it has to be better than where he's at right now, doesn't it?'

There was silence for a few moments, as they all contemplated the truth of that statement.

'I don't know,' Burt said with a shake of his head, 'I just don't even know anymore.'

* * *

><p>Finn looked over at the living room door, a confused, somewhat wary expression on his face.<p>

It wasn't that he wanted to be in there, in fact he was pretty sure that he actively didn't want to be a part of whatever was going on right now, but he knew that whatever was being said in that room was important, no, not just important, life-changing, and it was frustrating not to know what was happening, to be left out of something that could potentially have such a huge effect on him.

He kicked half-heartedly at the wall, before dropping down with a thud at the kitchen table, still sneaking sideways glasses at the closed living room door.

This whole thing was just so confusing. He knew it was bad, he just couldn't really get his head around what _'it' _was.

Rape (and even in his head he whispered it with a guilty flinch) was such a _big _word, but it was just that…a word. You heard about it on TV and from your teachers, but it wasn't real, it didn't affect you or your friends.

And the fact that it was Blaine…a boy…sure, Kurt had explained it to him, but he still just didn't _get it._

So this guy had…y'know…had sex with Blaine (and boy was that just a concept he didn't want to think about too deeply)…and Blaine hadn't wanted to. He was older and bigger and stronger and had fought Blaine and overpowered him; just like when someone gets mugged or…or tossed in a dumpster. It's not like Kurt had wanted that all those times, but he was little and sure as hell not a fighter and there was not a whole lot he could do about it. Finn got that alright, he got the physical side of it. But he still just couldn't get his head around the…the…he couldn't even think of the right word for it.

It's like…sex…sex was good, right? Like, really good. Sometimes it was all he thought about. He couldn't see himself ever turning it down. And it wasn't like this guy had just walked off the street; Blaine _knew _him, had gone on a date with him. So why would he not want to sleep with him? I mean, girls want to take it slow, right? Girls need taking out and treating right and convincing, but…but not guys.

Guys were supposed to want it.

Finn shook himself out of his thoughts. This was all just making his head hurt. He didn't know what was going on, he didn't know what he thought about it, but he had a pretty damn good idea that if he said what he'd just thought out loud to anybody in this house, he'd been in a hell-hole of trouble.

So he was just gonna keep his mouth shut and let it play out.

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><p><strong>AN: So...yeh, basically work has been really tough, lots of long hours etc, for the past 3 months, and I've just barely had a chance to write. But it's the longest chapter yet and good news is that I change job in August, and will be getting a 3 hour lunch break every day, so yay.<strong>

**Also, another reason this has taken so long, is that I'm reading this amazing book called 'Make Your Words Work' by Gary Provost...it's basically a writing course, and is absolutely amazing. Problem is I read it and am all like, 'yeh, that makes so much sense, I'll totally do that next time I write,' and then of course as soon as I write I make all the same mistakes I always was. It's really hard to change the way you write.**

**But other than all the crap I know I need to improve in my writing, one thing it's really made me realise is that my sense of POV is all kinds of fucked up. I'll started a scene from one persons POV, then started talking about the look on their face (which they wouldn't be able to see, obviously) or talking about how another persons feels (which they wouldn't know). I know there are still a few places in this chapter where I've done that appallingly, but I thought I should at least get it out for you.**

**So...any concrit people have is really appreciated...I'm particularly trying to cut out the glaringly obvious writing mistakes that completely drag a reader out of the atmosphere of the story, so if there are any for you, please do let me know. **

**I'm so sorry it took so long, and I'll do my best to have a shorter wait next time. It really does help to get messages and reviews later down the line when I'm worried everyone's given up on me, so thanks to everyone who hounded me :D**

**Come say hi here or at tumblr (itapedittoblainesunderboob)if you feel like it.**


	21. Chapter 20

**AN: Check me out guys, less than a month between updates :D...I know, I know, still pretty awful, but this one's a doozy...4350 words, over triple what they started as.**

**Humungous thanks to amethyst_unicorn - before she sunk her teeth into this, it was a couple of hundred words of unstructured, random thoughts - and Rory46 for sorting my grammar and spelling. Getting betas was the best idea I ever had, has realy helped me get back into this fic.**

**Hope you like it...**

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><p>After the questionable first impression he made, it was obvious that Cooper could not just brush over his past mistakes and be done with it, was no-where near earning their trust. And if they were going to have any chance of helping Blaine then they would have to trust each other.<p>

When Kurt made yet another frustrated huff, rolling his eyes and muttering something under his breath, Cooper slapped his hands down on his thighs, snapping back, 'Look, I get it, alright? I screwed up big time, but I was a kid, I didn't know any better and I'm..'

'No, no,' Kurt held out his hand to stop him, shaking his head vehemently. 'No, you weren't a _kid. _Blaine, _Blaine _was a kid, Blaine was 14-years-old when they tried to beat him to death. You were 22. That's a god-damn-adult and sure as hell old enough to know what you were doing when you made the decision to not even come and visit him in hospital. He was all alone and you could have done something to change that, but you didn't, not because you didn't know better, because you didn't want deal with all the crap your parents would dish out. You just left Blaine to deal with that too.'

He broke off, chest heaving from the force of his tirade, his labored breaths the only thing breaking the tense silence that filled the room. He locked eyes with Cooper.

Burt and Carole sat awkwardly, eyes flitting between the two, neither keen to interrupt the match-off going on.

Cooper looked for a moment as if he was going to respond, but instead stood suddenly, grabbing his coat and heading for the door.

'You know what, fine,' he muttered.

'You see, I knew it, I just knew it,' Kurt said, gesturing angrily to Burt and Carole.

'What do you even want from me?' Cooper responded, spinning on his heels to face them again.

'I want you to not throw in the towel the second someone challenges you. I want you to fight for him. If you even know how.'

Cooper froze. He looked for a moment as if he was going to answer back, mouth open and eyes narrowed, but after a silent moment closed his mouth and collapsed in on himself, shoulders sagging downwards with the release of tension, exhaling loudly.

'I…'

'He's not wrong,' Burt cut in. 'You say you're in this for the long haul, but you just about ran out of here 'cause you got shouted at by a teenager. You don't think there's worse than that to come?

'I wasn't running, I…'

'You really think you can handle your dad, the court case, and not to mention being responsible for one hell-of-an emotionally fragile and volatile 16-year-old?'

'But he won't have to do it on his own,' Carole, spoke up, after watching much of this exchange in silence. They all turned to stare. 'Sure, it might all be a bit much for him to handle on his own, but he won't be on his own, he'll have us. I mean, it's not like we could do this without him either, is it? Without Cooper we'd just be sitting here wishing we could change things, but with no way how. We need him. We need each other.'

Cooper gave her a grateful, tight-lipped smile, before walking back around the sofa to sit down, dropping his head into his hands.

'I know you have no reason to trust me and I know I've done nothing to prove that I mean this, but I do, I really, really do. When I heard what happened I…I…' he choked, losing his voice and his resolve as he tried desperately not to picture those awful things happening to, no, being done to his baby brother. 'I've let him down so much,' he cried, 'and I just want to make it up to him.'

Carole moved to stand beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder as he hunched forward over his knees.

Kurt and Burt backed off a little after that. They were still wary, of course, but they knew that they had to work together to make this work and they at least now trusted that Cooper's heart was in this. And if they needed to step in at some point down the line, well, it would be a hell of a lot easier taking Blaine away from Cooper than from his parents.

They sat talking for almost 2 hours, planning their mode of attack. They came up with the right arguments and the perfect wording to convince the Andersons that this would work in their favor, without letting on that the Hummels were at all involved. They thought of all the things that could go wrong, and came up with ways around them.

They were still concerned, none more-so that Cooper, that given their troubled relationship in the past, Blaine might not even see this his involvement as anything more than another hit, slap, kick while he's already down on the ground and hurting. But one thing they could all agree on was that they really didn't have any other options. This was their last hope.

The thought that they could end up hurting Blaine more, even if it was just in the short term, weighed heavily on all of their hearts.

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><p>Finn stayed mostly out of the way, only intruding when his need for food overcame his sense of self-preservation, and he was forced to venture through the living room on his way to the kitchen, always accompanied by a defensive, 'I know, I know,' as he rushed past.<p>

It was on the way back from his third trip, Twinkie stuffed whole into his mouth, that there was a sudden, frantic pounding on the front door.

Five heads whipped around in surprise.

'Mmm, I'w geb id, he said through his mouthful, but barely made it two steps before it started again, 8 hard, angry thuds in rapid succession.

'Mmmhmmm, 'm comin', 'm comin',' he said, a bit of Twinkie flying out of his mouth. He swiped the back of his hand across his face and made a, 'what the hell is up with them?' face to the others.

He made it to the door just as the knocks started again, and as soon as he opened it found himself shoved backwards, hard.

'WHERE THE HELL IS HE?' Mr Anderson roared as he pushed past him, storming into the house. 'I told you I'd call the police and I damn well will.'

In the living room Burt stood up immediately upon hearing the yell, but Cooper froze, eyes wide.

'That's my dad. He can't…he can't see me here, it'll ruin everything.'

'Just…just stay in here and keep quiet,' Burt replied in hushed tones, before striding out of the room.

He was planning on playing it cool, being nice and polite, anything to get him out of the house as quickly as possible, but on seeing Finn slouched against the wall nursing a bruised elbow, he felt the familiar rage that accompanied anything to do with George Anderson.

'Don't you dare touch my kid,' he spat out. 'Get the hell out of here or I _will_ call the police.'

'Not if I do first,' Mr Anderson sneered. 'Now get that pathetic mess to come down here and stop hiding like a sniveling little girl.'

Burt paled, worried for a moment that he had somehow found out that Cooper was here, but he steeled his expression.

'What on earth are you talking about?' We're just trying to have a family meal…'

'Oh don't give me that bullshit,' Mr Anderson replied. I know Blaine's here and I warned you what would happen if you didn't back off.'

Burt froze. This time he couldn't keep the look of shock from his face.

'Blaine? What? We haven't seen Blaine since we came to your house.'

'Well he's not there now, and half his things are gone too, so where the hell else would he be?'

'He's taken his things?' Burt said, shocked. 'As in, packed his things and ran away? Jees…'

'Bl…Blaine's gone?' A timid voice cut in from behind Burt. He turned to see Kurt, white-faced and holding onto the door-frame for support. 'He's missing? Oh my god, dad, what…?'

'Hey, hey don't panic,' Burt said, rushing over to him, 'we don't know anything yet. He could have gone to a friend's or something.' He turned back to Mr Anderson. 'Did he mention anything about a going to stay with a friend, or that he had somewhere to go? Anything?'

'How the hell should I know?'

'How the…? You're his father, for crying out loud. You dragged him from here because you thought you knew better and you don't even have any idea what's been going through his head.'

For the first time since they had met, Mr Anderson looked ever so slightly unsure of himself.

'Well, I…'

'Carole, call the police.'

'The pol…what?' Mr Anderson spluttered. 'There's certainly no need for that. Like you said, he's probably just gone to a friend's. No, no need to cause a ruckus.'

'A ruckus?' Burt said, incredulous, 'Your son has run away. And your concerned about causing a ruckus?'

'No, no Blaine wouldn't run away. He's a shy boy, stays in his room.'

'Are you completely blind? Are you really that out-of-touch with what's going on with your own son? He was raped,' Burt spat out. 'Your son was betrayed by someone he thought he could trust, beaten hard enough to break his bones, held down and raped.

'He is not in his right frame of mind right now. He's hurting and vulnerable and depressed. He needed to be cared for and watched over, but you had to swoop on in here and snatch him away for the fucking principle of it, and you couldn't even be bothered to make sure he was alright. You just shut him away in his room, with no way to contact the people who actually love him, and expected him to go right back to normal as if nothing had even happened?

'And now he's run away to god-only-knows where to do god-only-knows what to himself, and you don't want us to call the police? I swear to god, if he turns up dead in a ditch somewhere I will hunt you down.'

* * *

><p>Cooper sat stock-still in the living room, eyes wide, fingers clenched on his thighs as he listened to the argument just outside. He watched silently as Kurt ran out of the room on the verge of tears.<p>

As the voices rose in volume and anger and the realization that Blaine had ran away hit him, he felt the first tremors of panic begin to wash over him. What had he gotten himself in to? He wanted to help Blaine and be a good big brother to him, but had he really thought through what that would mean?

Blaine had issues, a lot of them. Cooper wasn't a parent or a counselor. In fact, he had pretty much no experience in comforting people whatsoever. He was the friend you came to for a laugh or a good night out, not if you needed a shoulder to cry on.

Maybe he really wasn't the right person for this. Maybe he should just leave now and pretend he'd never come back.

'_Your son was raped.'_

Cooper flinched hard.

'_He was betrayed by someone he thought he could trust.'_

He couldn't help the tears that formed behind his eyes at that. Just how many people had let Blaine down in his life? And now here he was, about to do the same again.

'No.' He barked at himself. 'No, I'm not that person.' And this time a whisper, 'I'm not like them.'

He'd spent his whole life as a pampered, spoilt little rich kid. Good looks, good grades; he'd had everything handed to him on a silver platter and he was finally ready to do something for himself, grow up, take on a little hardship and be a man. He was going to help his brother. He had to.

He sat for a few more moments, thinking hard about what he could do.

Blaine running was terrifying, but as long as they found him soon, it could actually help them to finally get him away from their parents for good. They only wanted Blaine there to keep up appearances, they didn't actually want to have to look after him. If he could make them think that Blaine was going to be more trouble that he was worth, they might very well jump at the chance to palm him off onto someone else. As long as that someone else wasn't Burt Hummel, of course.

'_Well, no time like the present,'_ he thought to himself.

He stood, took a deep breath, hoped to god that his wouldn't back fire on him, and walked out to join the fray.

As he stepped past a crying Kurt and Carole on the phone to the police, he looked at Burt and widened his eyes, desperately willing him to understand what he was doing, to trust him.

'What the hell are you doing here?'

Cooper's settled his face into a scowl and stalked towards his father.

'I'm here to sort this mess out, dad,' he hissed, taking him by the arm and pulling him towards the now empty living room. 'I've had people calling me up to tell me what's going on. Do you know how embarrassing that is?'

'Do I…? Of course I fucking know. Do you not think I've been having it from all sides?'

'Then what the hell have you been doing to sort it?'

'I've been trying. But these damn….' He gestured towards the corridor, 'keep stepping in and fucking everything up. And now they've come and taken him again and I warned them, I fucking warned them.'

'Dad, I've been here for hours,' Cooper said in earnest. 'Blaine isn't here, and these guys have been here the whole time. There's literally no way they could have anything to do with it. I think Bu…Mr Hummel is right, Blaine's run away.'

Mr Anderson clenched his fists tightly beside him.

'That little… I swear he's brought nothing but problems since the day he was born. If the country club hears about this...'

'But Dad, why did you even take him back. I mean, if he's causing you problems and the Hummels are happy to take him in…Isn't that exactly what you want?'

'Let my son be taken in by a…a mechanic, his hillbilly wife and flaming fag of a son? I'd never hear the end of it. I've just been nominated against Sanderson for club president this year, you think anyone will vote for me once that scandal breaks? I want him to stop causing problems, not create new ones.'

This time it was Cooper's turn to clench his fists, but he knew he couldn't let his emotions show. This was exactly what he'd been hoping for.

'What about…' he formed his best 'thoughtful' expression, 'no, no…that wouldn't work.'

'What?' Mr Anderson replied, taking the bait.

'Well…what if…what if you sent Blaine to live with me? I mean, you want him off your hands, but don't want the scandal of him running away. Give him to me.' Cooper flinched internally at the suggestion of Blaine as some kind of object, but he knew that deep down that was exactly how their father viewed him. 'That would play just fine at the club. It could even work in your favour. You could make yourself out to be some kind of new-age, modern parent. I'm successful, have my own business; could say you want to teach Blaine to be an independent man, instead of just mollycoddling him at private school like Sanderson's kids.'

'But why on earth would you want to do that to yourself? You have your business to run and your girlfriend. You don't want that little fag getting under your feet.

'Maybe, but we need to do something. Clearly you've not managed to get through to him in the slightest and living here…maybe the change of scenery will be all the difference he needs. And you never know, I might even be able to...' he paused for a moment, cringing internally, 'get the fag out of him once and for all.'

'You'd do that?' Mr Anderson questioned. 'You really let him stay with you?'

'Anything for the family, Dad,' Cooper replied, innocent smile spreading across his face.

* * *

><p>Burt paced back and forth across the hallway. Carole was still on the phone to the police and Kurt was working his way through his address book, calling all and any of Blaine's friends that he might possibly have been in contact with over the past few days.<p>

He felt completely useless. Blaine was in no fit state to be on his own, and the longer he was missing, the more chance he would do something stupid. He wanted to punch the wall, or better yet, punch George Anderson.

He stalled for a moment by the living room door, trying to make out the words being said. Suddenly the voices became louder and he stumbled backwards just in time for Mr Anderson to throw open the doors and storm out of the house.

'Fix this, Cooper,' he shouted over his shoulder, before disappearing out the front door.

Burt looked towards Cooper, waiting for an explanation.

'I…I think it worked. I think he'll let me have him…I mean, not have…I'

'I get it,' Burt said, nodding his head, 'Now we just have to find the damn kid.'

'No luck yet?' Cooper replied, just as Kurt and Carole came down the stairs.

'No-one's heard anything,' Kurt said, red, puffy eyes evidence of his recent tears. 'He hasn't been in contact with anyone, phone or computer, for days.'

They all turned to Carole.

'Please tell me there's not some stupid 'got to be missing for 24 hours' rule,' Burt said, desperately.

'No, no. He's a minor, so they'll start looking for him straight away. They're sending someone to the house to get a photo, description, friends' names and addresses, any information we can give them that might help, really. Kurt, do you have anything?'

'Yeh, I'll print some photos off facebook, and I should have a programme from a Warblers performance that will have everyone's names. They can get addresses from Dalt…Oh my god,' Kurt said, eyebrows raised, mouth wide open.

'What?'

'Dalton,' Kurt burst out. 'I think he might have gone to Dalton.'

'You really think so?' Burt said, unsure.

'I…Not for certain, but maybe. It's the best I can think. He was happy there. I mean, I know Blaine's clearly been hiding a lot from me, but he's never outright lied. He was happy at Dalton, he really was, I'm sure of it. He had good friends and he could be himself. He felt safe there.'

'Should we go now or wait for the police?' Cooper asked, turning to Burt for an guidance.

'We'll need someone to stay behind and talk to the police, but it doesn't need all four of us. It's not a bad idea and if we want to find him as soon as possible we need to follow-up any ideas.'

'I should probably go,' Cooper said. 'I mean, you guys no much more about Blaine to tell the police, and I know Dalton too.'

'I'm going too,' Kurt stated, loudly.

Burt groaned to himself. He knew Kurt wasn't going to give this up easily, but if Blaine really had done something to himself…he was still Kurt's father, and he had to protect him the best he could. If Kurt found Blaine after…he didn't even want to think about.

'Kurt, I don't think…'

'No, Dad, I'm going. I have to find him, I can't just sit here and do nothing.'

'Come here,' Burt said softly, pulling him into his arms. 'You won't be doing nothing. You'll be giving the police all the information they need to help find him. You know him better than any of us, know all the people or place he might have run to. Hell, he might even be on his way here right now. You wouldn't want to miss him if he came looking for you.'

'I…I guess,' Kurt sniffed into Burt's shoulder.

'I'll go with you Cooper,' Burt said. 'There should be someone he trusts…I mean, uh…'

'It's alright,' Cooper sighed. 'I know he wouldn't trust me any more than our Dad right now. We can work on that later. Right now let's just concentrate on finding him.'

Burt nodded once.

'Please find him, Dad,' Kurt cried, still clinging to him desperately.

Burt nodded once, giving Kurt another tight squeeze, before stepping away, grabbing his keys off the counter and stroding out of the house, Cooper following quickly behind him.

* * *

><p>Blaine hefted his bag up on his shoulder, shivering slightly in the cool wind. He was cold and more than a little hungry, but he didn't regret leaving. He couldn't have stayed a minute more in that house.<p>

Every second he was there he could feel this weight pressing down on his chest, heavier and heavier with each breath he took. Every morning that he got dressed and styled his hair, every word he typed on his computer, every false smile and polite sentence he exchanged with his parents; he was suffocating under the pressure of his façade.

The second he had stepped out of the house it felt like he had taken his first real breath in days. It had filled his lungs and soothed the ache inside, at least for a few short moments.

Of course, it hadn't lasted for long. Nothing good ever did. Soon enough the memories started entering his thoughts again, little tendrils of pain and shame and utter helplessness forcing their way into his mind.

He shivered again, but this time not just from the cold.

As hard as he wished for it, he knew forgetting wasn't an option, and he just didn't know how he was supposed to carry on, live a whole lifetime under the knowledge of what he was.

'_Worthless. Useless. Whore.'_

He felt a tear roll down his cheek and swiped angrily at it. Hadn't he been made to cry enough?

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the rumbling sound of an approaching bus. It pulled to a stop a few metres down the road, and he stumbled after it, scrabbling in his pocket for his spare change. He kept his head down as he walked down the corridor, not wanting to make eye contact with any of his fellow passengers. Spotting an empty pair of seats towards the back, he made a beeline for it.

He tucked his bag tightly under the seat and let himself drop down heavily. He was so very tired and all he wanted to do was sleep, but with sleep came nightmares and memories that he didn't have the strength to fight off.

He brought his hand up to rub over his neck, wincing harshly as brushed over the healing bite-mark on his shoulder. He looked down, could just about see the edge of it, angry and red against his skin. His bruises were all fading, but this mark was still as raw as the day it was made. He rubbed his fingers over it again, digging hard with his nails. He bit his lip as he felt the scab lift away and a trickle of blood roll down onto the collar of his t-shirt.

'Oh my dear, you've made yourself bleed.'

Blaine looked up, shocked, to see an elderly lady bundling her things under the seat next to him.

'Oh no, that won't do at all, you'll make a terrible mess of your clothes.'

She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and pushed it towards Blaine. He shrank away from her outstretched hand, but she pressed forwards, holding it against his shoulder when he didn't take it from her himself. He flinched away at the contact, but made no move the stop her.

'There we go, much better, much better,' she smiled at him, oblivious to his discomfort.

'Th..thank-you,' he whispered quietly, ever polite.

He turned away after that, heading dropping lightly against the bus window, eyes drifting shut. He jolted awake a few seconds later as the bus began to move, looked around for a second, then let his head rest down again, only do that same thing a few moments later.

'Oh my, you're a jumpy one, aren't you?' She smiled widely. 'Young thing like you, what have you got to be afraid of?' She laughed to herself at her own little joke.

'Oh…um, 'Blaine stammered, 'I'm just tired, I guess. Haven't been able to sleep properly for a while.' He shrugged his shoulders.

'Oh deary my. That won't do, that won't do at all. I know just what you need,' she said, rummaging through her bag purposefully. 'Ah, here we are.' She held out a sheet of small, white pills, '_Ambien_' written in small letters across the back, only one from the end already taken. 'Work wonders, my dear. You'll be asleep in minutes.'

Blaine stared at her wide eyed, and she thrust them forward further with a smile and a nod.

'Um, I…' He knew he shouldn't take them, but the promise of just one night's sleep without waking up screaming was just too hard to ignore. He reached a tentative hand out and she pressed them firmly into his hand and closed his fingers around them.

'Thank-you,' he said again.

'You keep them all, my dear. I've got more than enough.'

He smiled ever so slightly at her, before popping the tiny pill out of its packet. He held it in his hands for a few seconds, before closing his eyes and tipping it into his mouth.

No more than a minute later he was fast asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Blaine, Noooooooo, don't do it. Poor little Blainers, he's heading down a pretty bad path...will they get there in time? Who knows...<strong>


	22. Chapter 21

**AN: Thank you to everyone that's still reading. I know it's tricky to keep up with fics that update so infrequently. **

**I still always appreciate concrit, and reviews/messages really do help to get me writing when I've been too busy/lazy.**

**So without further ado...**

* * *

><p>Kurt. <em>Kurt. <em>Blaine sighed happily, arms reaching to hug tightly around himself. He saw Kurt's face before him, felt his breath so soft and gentle against his skin, and the barely there brush of his lips against his own. He couldn't quite stop the smile that flicked at the corners of his mouth at the thought of it. He still couldn't believe he'd actually done it, walked up and just kissed him, right then and there, no words, no fuss. And in front of his dad to top it off. It left a warm glow inside him that blunted the edges and muted the harsh sounds of the world around him.

Out of nowhere, a meaty hand grasped his shoulder, shaking him awake.

'W…wwwhat?' He pressed himself as far back into the window as he could.

'End o' the line, kid.'

'Wha…? I don't..,' he looked around frantically. Oh, right. He was on a bus, and it was completely empty, lights switched off. He peered out the window, but could barely make out the scene through the dirty glass. 'Oh...I'II, um…'

'Come on, kid. I wanna get home before morning. Off you get.'

'Ssssorry,' he whispered, reaching under his seat for his bag, all the while trying to press himself as far away as possible. He ducked past the man, who stood aside to let him through, a sad expression on his face as he watched Blaine all but run away from him and off the bus. This wasn't the first run-away he'd driven to a new life. It never failed to get to him, thinking of his own two children asleep in their beds, warm and well-fed. He wished there was some way to help these kids, but what could he do?

Blaine shivered, sensing the bus driver's eyes on him, and hurried around the corner. Once he was safely out of sight, he turned in a circle, looking around for some sign as to where he was. He felt the tears rolling down his cheeks before he even realized he was crying, but didn't have the strength to stop or even wipe them away.

Of course, deep down he'd know that running away wasn't the smartest idea, that any number of things could go wrong, but he honestly hadn't felt like he had any other choice. His parents' rules and expectations were weighing so heavily on him, and without any support he'd just known that if he'd stayed even a day longer he would have lost himself completely. He hadn't taken the time to think it through, just planned to get to Dalton, the one place he knew he'd be safe and welcome, and figure things out from there.

He shook his head sharply, trying to get his mind clear enough to make some kind of sensible plan, but he just felt groggy and half-asleep, still in the grip of that stupid tablet he'd taken. He'd just wanted to sleep so badly, to have a few hours free of memories and nightmares, but now he was lost and alone in the middle of the night. It was just the same as everything else. No matter what he did, no matter what choices he made, he always ended up stepping into a worse situation than the one before.

_'Stop it, stop being so pathetic,'_ he told himself._' No one's going to help you, so you'll just have to help yourself.'_

He spotted a sign pointing to restrooms round the corner, and decided that a splash of cold water on his face was exactly what he needed, but barely made it two steps before a hand clamped down on his shoulder, hard.

Blaine shouted in surprise, spinning around wildly, arms coming up instinctively to knock the hand away. He stumbled back a few paces, but the man followed, crowding into his personal space.

'You look like you need a place to sleep,' he leered, leaning even closer. 'I got myself a place that's nice and warm for ya.' He grinned widely, showing his dirty, crooked teeth.

Blaine sobbed out loud, recoiling both in fear, and from the stench of the man's breath against his face.

'Nnnno, no pl..pl..please….' He broke off as his back hit the wall behind him, breaths coming in short, sharp gasps. 'I….I…'

The man stalked towards him, still grinning and laughing. 'Oh now, don't be scared little thing, I don't bite.' He brought a hand up to Blaine's face, stroking it down his tear-stained cheek. 'Such a little, little thing.'

Blaine jerked his head backwards, and it cracked against the wall with a burst of pain, that forced his eyes shut made his stomach roll.

'_Why, why, why,'_ he thought, trembling in pain and desperation._ 'Why this, why always me?'_

'_Because you were made for this,'_ a voice whispered, sickly sweet in his ear._ 'Such a beautiful boy, such a good little whore.'_

He sobbed again, feeling the fight leave him and his body sag as James's voice filled his head. As the man's hand slipped around his waist, pinching into his side and tugging him insistently away from the wall, Blaine let himself drift down, so far down and away, until he barely even noticed that he was being led away from the lights of the station.

'Hey,' a voice shouted from the distance.

The man turned around at the shout, and although Blaine knew he should take this opportunity and run, he felt so distant, so removed, that he couldn't seem to get the message through to his body to move.

'Get away from him. Now,' the voice shouted again, and the man quickly turned tail and fled down the street.

At the loss of the weight pressed against him, Blaine's legs buckled beneath him and he dropped to the floor, muscles trembling and weak.

'_Is this it?'_ he thought,_'is this what I can expect from now on?'_

'Hey kid, are you alright?' The voice was getting closer._ 'No, I don't deserve it. I don't.' _'Did he hurt you? I can call an ambulance, let me see.'

'_No,' _'No, no please,' Blaine whispered, scrambling backwards into the wall._ 'Stop. Make him stop.' _'Leave me alone, please.'

'Hey, it's ok, I'm trying to help,' the man said, reaching forwards.

'_No.'_

'Come on, it's…'

'I said NO.' Blaine lashed out wildly, knuckles connecting with something hard in front of him.

'Aaah, Jesus, kid.' The man stumbled back, hands clasped to his face.

Blaine looked up, eyes wide at the sight of blood trickling through the man's fingers.

'I…I…,' his eyes darted back and forth in panic. With a burst of adrenaline, he snatched his bag from the ground beside him, pushed himself to his feet and sprinted away.

'Hey, wait. WAIT. Dammit' the bus driver said, wiping his face, gingerly. 'I'm just trying to help.'

Blaine ran and ran, not stopping when the voice behind him drifted off into the distance, not stopping when his legs began to burn and chest began to ache. He ran, just as he'd run from James all those nights ago.

He was so tired of running. Why did he always have to run?

He darted sideways, just as his legs gave way, crouching against the wall and throwing up everything that was in his stomach. He had barely eaten for the past few days, and acid and bile burned as it came up, but he kept retching until his throat was hoarse and his eyes watering.

After a few minutes kneeling by the side of the road, he picked up his things, and stumbled around the corner into a small alcove, sheltered from the main road.

It was early summer and hot and muggy even at night. He slipped his coat off, tying one sleeve to the handle of his bag, and the other to a grate in the floor. Leaning back against the hard bricks, he hugged his bag tightly to his chest and shut his eyes.

He tried to rekindle the dream he had been having on the bus, but his mind was invaded with leering faces and unwelcome touches. He didn't want this. He didn't want to see them or feel them anymore. He wanted Kurt. He wanted Burt. He just wanted to feel safe, to _be _safe. Was that too much to ask?

* * *

><p>Burt watched the scenery evolving out the window. Grey concrete and towering buildings became green trees and white picket fences, became vast golden fields.<em> 'God, it would be nice to be able to send my kid here for more than a few months,'<em> he thought to himself.

He glanced beside him to Cooper, to his tense, worried face, and realized that having the money to send your kid to some fancy school in the middle of the countryside might sound nice, but it was nothing on a bit of good, old-fashioned love and support. Cooper and Blaine had had money thrown at them all their lives, and look where that had got them.

He'd been tense and short with Cooper the whole car-ride, giving one word answers and otherwise sitting in stony silence, and he suddenly felt guilty for it. After all, wasn't Cooper a victim in all this, just as Blaine was? He hadn't asked to be brought up the way he had been. Sure, he hadn't had it as bad as Blaine, but it couldn't have been easy for him either. And to make the decision to change himself, to accept something he'd always been taught was wrong… well that wasn't an easy decision for anyone to make, let alone a kid. Burt knew that from personal experience.

Cooper was trying to be better; maybe it was his turn to give a little.

'So…' he started, trailing off as he realised he didn't have a damn clue what to say.

Cooper's eyes flicked to the side. 'Hmm,' he replied, before locking his gaze back on the road ahead, his expression giving away nothing of what was going on inside his head.

'_Well that went well,'_ thought Burt.

'Look, I know I've been hard on you, I'm…I'm just real protective of that kid, okay? And…well, it does seem like you just kind of flew into this whole thing ass first. Can't blame me for being wary now, can ya?'

Cooper opened his mouth to speak, shut it, opened it again, then burst out laughing, head thrown back.

Burt was thrown for a moment, before he too was doubled over, almost in tears as he laughed.

They carried on that way, until the car swerved sideways.

'Jeez, kid,' Burt wheezed, grabbing the wheel. 'Watch…wh..watch the d..d..damn driving, will ya?'

Cooper wiped a hand across his eyes before resuming his watch of the road ahead, still intermittently giggling to himself.

'Sorry,' he muttered, 'not really sure what set that off.' Burt hummed his agreement. 'Ass first, huh? I like that one. Kind of describes a lot about me, really.'

Burt snorted in amusement.

'I meant it though,' Burt said. 'I will ease up on you, I just really need to look out for Blaine. We're the first people he's had that he can trust in a hell of a long time, I can't let him down.'

'I know, I really do. And Carole was right.' Burt looked over, eyebrows raised. 'I can't do this on my own. What the hell do I know about looking after a teenager? I'm not planning on cutting you out, Burt. In fact, I'm kind of banking on you being there to show me what the hell I'm supposed to be doing.'

'So how's that going to work?' Burt said. 'What with you living a 2-hour flight away?'

'Yeh, that's kind of what I've been thinking about this whole drive, really. I'll have to talk to Brad - he's my housemate, we set up the business together - but I guess maybe a move back to Columbia or thereabouts might be on the cards, at least for a little while.'

Burt raised his eyebrows.

'You'd do that?'

'Yeah, I think I would.'

They lapsed back into silence, but the tension had melted away, leaving a sort of comfortable awkwardness. They weren't quite there just yet, but Burt could certainly feel himself warming to the kid.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Cooper turned off onto a long, gravel drive. Burt looked in awe at the building rising in the distance.<p>

'You know, I'll never get used to the size of this place.'

'Yeh,' Cooper sighed, wistfully. 'It's pretty amazing, isn't it? Had some real good times here.'

The car rolled to a stop in front of a set of dark gates. Burt eyed them suspiciously.

'Please, _please _tell me you know how to unlock to these things,' he said, glancing back to Cooper.

'Uh…I guess you could say that,' Cooper said, 'if by unlock you mean climb over?'

'Climb over? CLIMB OVER? Are you completely mad?' Burt spun around to face him.

Cooper gave a small shrug.

'Did you know it would be locked?'

Cooper looked away. 'Uuuuuh…No?'

Burt grit his teeth, forcing himself not to lose his cool and just maul the boy right there. 'And you didn't think to bring up his little bit of information earlier?'

'It's the summer holidays and the middle of the night,' Cooper said slowly, 'I thought it would be obvious.'

Burt opened his mouth, but shut it again when he realized that, actually it really was kind of obvious.

'Well I'm not breaking into the damn place,' he said, throwing his hands in the air. 'Some of us have morals. And bad backs.'

Cooper turned his back on Burt to hide his grin. He walked up to the gate and typed a number into a keypad attached to the wall beside the gate, which dutifully swung open.

'Well it's a good thing I was joking then, isn't it?'

'_Do not maul him. Do NOT maul him.'_

'How the hell do you even know that code?' Burt said aloud. When did you go here? 10 years ago?'

'A marauder never tells his secrets,' Cooper replied with a grin, ignoring Burt's baffled expression as he bounded off down the Dalton grounds. 'Keep up old man,' he shouted behind him, 'we've got a window to climb through next.'

'Kids,' Burt muttered to himself as he set off after Cooper, determinedly _not _keeping up. 'Nuts, the lot of 'em.'

He was just catching up to Cooper, who already had one leg up on a ledge, trying to force a window open, when his phone rang. He fumbled in his pockets for it, and froze for a moment as Carole's name appeared on the screen.

God, this news could be good or it could be so, so bad. He took a deep breath and answered the call.

'They've found him, he's okay,' Carole sighed down the phone without pausing for hellos. Relief flooded Burt's body, and a weight lifted from his chest. He felt completely boneless.

'Oh God, that's…that's just…' he broke off, choked for words.

'I know, honey,' Carole said, clearly tearing up herself.

'How, I mean...who found him? And where?'

'He's at a police station in a little town called St Clairsville, past Cambridge, nearly out to Pennsylvania. They sent his picture and description round to all the bus and train stations in the state and someone recognised him. They found him asleep in a doorway a mile or so away from the bus station there. He nearly made it out of the state, Burt, can you imagine? We might never have found him.'

'Let's not even think about that,' he said, shaken. 'As long as he's alright. God, please tell me he's alright.'

'He's fine. A bit shaken, they said, and no better for being carted off by the police, but he's not hurt.'

'We'll go pick him up,' said Burt. 'Dalton's half way there anyway. God, that's such good news.'

'Uh, that's the other thing,' she said, hesitance clear in her voice.

'What?'

'Well, you can't…since he's a minor, they won't…'

'They won't let us pick him up, will they? It has to be his parents. Shit, shit.' He swiped his hand angrily across his head. 'Not even Cooper? He's related, surely…'

'Maybe, I didn't get a chance to check. If they could get his parents to give consent, perhaps?'

'Well they'll just have to. His parents won't come all the way out here and they can't just keep him there forever. God dammit.' The thought was punctuated with a loud slap, as he brought his palm down hard against the wall beside him.

'I know,' Carole soothed, 'but it's something. He's warm and he's safe, we know that at the very least.'

Burt hummed his agreement, before making his goodbyes.

He stopped for a moment, letting the news sink in.

'Cooper,' he yelled across the courtyard. 'Cooper,' he couldn't help but laugh, now that his concern for Blaine was at least partially abated, at the sight of Cooper desperately trying to shimmy under barely open window, and, unsurprisingly, failing miserably. 'Get over here, you lug,' he shouted, 'they've found Blaine, we're back on the road.'

* * *

><p>Kurt picked at his nails, wincing as the skin ripped. He sucked his finger into his mouth with a hiss, then went straight back to picking at his nails again.<p>

He stood up, paced across the living room three times, then sat back down again. He rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He was so tired, but couldn't even think about letting himself sleep.

Blaine was gone. He'd run away. He was supposed to be there for him, but in the end it turned out Blaine just hadn't trusted him enough. He'd let him down when it mattered most.

'Hey.' Kurt jumped as a weight bounced down next to him and an arm slung itself around his shoulders.

'Hey Finn,' he sighed, not looking up.

'What's up?'

Kurt turned, eyebrows raised.

'Really, Finn? What's up? '

'I know, I know you're worried about him, but he's safe now, right? I mean, they've found him, so it's alright. Isn't it?'

'No, Finn, it isn't _alright_,' Kurt bit out, shaking off Finn's arm and standing, to resume pacing across the living room. 'Blaine ran away. He's so hurt and…and a mess and he ran away. It is so far from alright.'

Finn looked thoughtful.

'I know things are bad now, but I think…I mean, when Quinn was pregnant, when all that was happening; when I thought it was mine and then I found out it was Puck's…everything seemed so awful then and I didn't get why it was all happening to me. But, it turned out ok. In the end.'

'It turned out okay for you, Finn. Quinn got kicked out of home, had a baby she'll never know and no-one's even heard from her since school let out.'

'I was just saying…'

'Life isn't a fairy tale, Finn' Kurt snapped, 'things don't just magically get better. Surely you must have realised that by now.'

Finn looked down at his hands in silence.

'Shit, I'm…I'm sorry, alright,' Kurt said, face falling. 'It's not your fault and I shouldn't take it out on you, it's just…I'm just so angry. I'm angry at myself for not noticing something was up with Blaine sooner, I'm angry with him for running away instead of just coming to us like we told him he could and I'm angry that any of this even happened in the first place. It's not fair. None of it's fair.'

He dropped back down on the sofa, head in his hands, and collapsed sideways as Finn pulled him into a tight hug against his chest.

'It's not fair.'

Finn rubbed a comforting hand up and down his arm, before saying quietly, 'you know it's not your fault either, right? That you didn't know.' Kurt remained silent. 'He hid it really well. He fooled everyone.'

'I just want him to be okay again.'

* * *

><p>'I'm going to call my dad now,' Cooper said, as Burt drove them towards St Clairsville. I'm going to have to talk to him like...like he'll expect, you know. So just...' He shrugged his shoulders.<p>

'Do whatever you need,' Burt nodded in agreement. 'Just make sure we can take Blaine home with us when we get there.'

The phone rang for almost a full minute before it was finally answered.

'Dad...'

'Yes, I know...'

'Yes, Sir.'

'Dad...Sir, will you please listen?'

Yes. He's at a police station in St Clairsville. It's near...'

'I'm on my way to pick him up now.'

'No, Sir, he's not...'

'No, will you just...'

'Just wait a second...'

'I need...'

'Look, Dad, you need to call the station and tell them I'll be picking him up. Fax them some proof of ID or something.'

'No, Dad, you have to do it.'

'Because you're his parents and they're already going to think it's strange that you aren't coming to get him yourselves.'

'It isn't nothing, Dad. They're asking questions, lots of questions.'

'About what? What the hell do you think? How about why some random family is calling to report a teenage boy missing, not his parents? Why his parents weren't anywhere to be seen, and why they aren't even coming to pick him up themselves now that he's been found.'

'I'm sorry, but it doesn't look good, Dad, you have to see that it doesn't look good.'

'You need to give them some excuse and make sure they don't give me a whole load of crap when I arrive. I'm wasting enough of my time on this as it is, I don't need to spend 3 hours in some hick town in the middle of nowhere waiting for them to talk to their superiors or whatever it is they'll do. So just call them, alright?'

'Look, I'm managing it from this end, but something's going to have to change, or they'll start looking into this more than you want. You need to think about what I was saying before, maybe sending Blaine to live with me for a bit. Officially.'

'Because my business is just about to really take off and the last thing I want is some ridiculous family scandal messing it all up. I'd rather have to put up with his whinging for a bit than lose everything I've worked for.'

'Yes.'

'Yes, Sir.'

'Fine.'

Cooper hung up the phone, took a deep breath to compose himself, and turned around to find Burt looking at him warily out the corner of his eye.

'What?' he snapped. 'Shit, sorry, I just…'

A few minutes passed before he continued, softly.

'Y'know, sometimes I worry that I find it a little too easily to slip into that role.'

Burt didn't respond, knowing that there was more Cooper needed to stay.

'I mean, I've been honest with you, right? I never pretended I was an angel. I know I made a lot of mistakes, but that person you just heard isn't me. I guess with a few different choices it could have been a reality, but it's not, ok? I lived with my parents for 18 years, I guess I just know what they wants to hear'

Burt just nodded, in silence.

Almost an hour later they pulled off the highway, Burt peering at the Sat Navy as he navigated the web of roads.

'I guess we're here.'

* * *

><p>Burt waited by the door as Cooper rang the bell at the reception desk. He wanted to rush forwards, be right there when Blaine came out, but he hung back. Blaine's brother coming to pick him up instead of his parents was one thing, but some random middle-aged guy….he just didn't want to give these guys any reason to kick up a fuss.<p>

He watched intently as two officers came to the desk, spoke to Cooper and examined his ID. He had a heart-stopping moment when one of them turned to stare in his direction, then whispered furiously to his colleague, but Cooper hurriedly reassured them, hands waving in Burt's direction, and they were soon nodding their heads, before one of them turned and left.

Burt's heart was pounding in his throat. Had it really only been days since he had seen Blaine? It felt an age. So much had changed in such a short time. He drew in a deep breath as the door opened and the officer came back through, Blaine following closely behind him.

'_God, he looks so small,' _Burt thought as he took in Blaine hunched form.

Blaine's eyes were glued to the floor as he was led around the desk. When he finally looked up Burt could see the shock, and then confusion settle on his face as their eyes locked and Blaine looked faintly as if he were about to throw up. He tried to give a comforting smile, and it seemed to have the desired effect, as the beginnings of an almost hopeful expression began to form in Blaine's eyes.

Burt tipped his head in Cooper's direction and held his breath as Blaine turned to see what he was gesturing at, praying that this didn't go so wrong that it couldn't be fixed.

The moment Blaine's gaze settled on Cooper his eyes went wide as saucers, almost comically so, and his gasp of surprise was audible, even across the room. There was a moment of complete stillness, as Blaine stared at his brother, mouth gaping, barely comprehending what was happening.

Cooper gave a sad smile and a small wave, and before anyone had a chance to move, Blaine's bag dropped to the floor with a thud.

And he ran.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading. Would love to hear your thoughts. <strong>

**Specific question this time - were the scene changes ok? There were a few '20 minutes later...' etc, and they felt a little clunky, but I didn't really know how else to do it...**

**I promise from next chapter onwards will start to get a bit more back on track with the story...wrote myself into a bit of a corner with the 'blaine going back to his parents' thing, and wanted to resolve it properly...I hope I did**


	23. Chapter 22

**AN: Phew *wipes sweat off forehead* Here it is; I've read this one through so many times I am honestly sick of it, which makes it pretty hard for me to know if its any good or not. **

**Sorry for the slightly longer wait again; I'm now revising for some pretty killer exams, so that's taking a lot of time.**

**As usual, always appreciate con/crit, and so much gratitude to everyone that's still reading and giving feedback.**

* * *

><p>'Oof,'<p>

Cooper stumbled backwards as a body collided with his and arms reached around his back to fist in his shirt.

He paused just long enough to send a confused look to Burt, before he realised just what was happening, and hurriedly returned the embrace, holding his little brother tightly to his chest.

His heart broke at the words he heard whispered into his shirt.

'I'm so sorry, I missed you so much… I… I thought you didn't, I thought I'd never see you….I'm so sorry, Coop. Don't leave me, please don't leave me, I'm sorry.'

He choked back his own cry. What could he say? What could he possibly say to make it up to his brother who had been hurt so badly but was so broken down that he was the one apologising.

He clutched him tighter, pressed his face into his soft curls and whispered the only words he could.

'Never. Never again.'

* * *

><p>Burt's eyes widened in surprise as Blaine all but launched himself at his brother. He shrugged his shoulder and mouthed, 'I don't know,' as Cooper, clearly just as shocked and confused, looked at him for direction.<p>

He didn't know what to think of the sight of the two brothers hugging in front of him. Blaine was clinging to Cooper like a limpet, crying and whispering into his shirt, and Cooper clearly had a paternal instinct he wasn't aware of, as he cradled Blaine's head to his chest, stroking his hair and whispering right back to him.

Burt wasn't sure why Blaine's reaction was so far from what Cooper had predicted, but as long as Blaine wasn't scared or angry or betrayed as they had feared, was actually happy to see him, then they would just have to go with it. For now Blaine was safe, out of his parents' reach and coming back home. They could work out the details later.

Blaine pushed away from Cooper, rubbing a hand over his face and shaking his head.

'What are you doing here?' He said, staring at his brother as if he had just stepped off a spaceship.

'You were missing,' Cooper replied, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. 'We've been looking for you.'

'You were? But…wait, we?' He stopped, eyes wide, looking back and forth between Burt and Cooper. 'But…how? When?'

Burt stepped forwards, smiling warmly at Blaine, trying to reassure him.

'Cooper came to see us after your dad took you back. He wanted to help us get you back, help us keep you safe.'

'He… You've been trying…' He ran a hand through his hair, looking down at the floor, then back up at Burt, suddenly shy and unsure of himself. He worried his lip between his teeth, and bounced on his feet, muscles almost twitching in anticipation, clearly wanting to do something but holding himself back.

'Can I… would it be okay… I mean, if I…' He stopped again, swallowing loudly.

'Ah jeez, just come 'ere already, kid,' Burt said, stepping forwards and tugging Blaine against him and wrapping his arms around him. Burt chuckled as Blaine let out a sigh and sagged against him, rubbing a warm hand up and down his back.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, until Burt felt the weight in his arms start to increase.

'Hey, you falling asleep there, Buddy?' He said with a smile.

'Hmmm, 's comfy,' Blaine mumbled, attempting to burrow his way through Burt's shirt.

'Okay, let's get you to bed,' he said, shifting Blaine in his arms so he was supported by one arm, tucked tightly against his side.

'I've got his bag,' Cooper called over, offering a quick 'thank you' to the officers before joining Burt as he led a half-asleep Blaine out to the car.

Burt let up a silent thank-you that the officers had accepted Cooper's ID and hadn't questioned his presence. Of course he hoped they didn't make a habit of letting middle-aged men 'collect' homeless kids without even asking who they were, but in this case he was about as thankful as he could get. He didn't think his heart could have taken the let-down of being turned away yet again.

'Woah, careful,' he said as Blaine tripped down the curb, gripping tighter around hid side. Cooper was there a moment later, catching him so that he was supported on either side.

'Wow, you are really sleepy, huh little bro?' He said, eyebrows raised, receiving only a soft murmur in response.

Together they helped slide Blaine into the backseat, but his fingers clasped Cooper's wrist when he tried to pull away. Cooper looked up at Burt for direction.

'I'll drive,' Burt said, reading the implicit question. 'You should stay with him. I think he's got the right idea though; a 5 hour drive right now after we've been on the road half the night is not a great idea. We all need to get a decent sleep in a real bed. Maybe we should go ask in the station where the nearest hotel or B&B is.'

'Already googled it, old man,' Cooper said with a grin, holding his phone out to Burt. Put it in the GPS.'

Burt glared back at Cooper, but took the phone from his outstretched hand, grumbling under his breath about 'youngsters' and 'no respect'.

He punched the address into the GPS then looked over his shoulder, only to find Blaine and Cooper already fast asleep. He smiled to himself, before starting the engine.

He tried to switch off as he drove, let his mind have at least a few moments of rest before he had to start planning for the future, but couldn't stop his mind from running over everything that had happened in the past few weeks again and again, and before he knew it his GPS was announcing his arrival.

He pulled the car to a gentle stop and glanced in his mirror.

He felt more hope at the sight of the two boys sleeping in the backseat than he had in the past few weeks combined.

Blaine was curled on his side, head lying on Cooper's thigh, whose hand was resting protectively in his hair, where it had stroked softly until he too had fallen asleep.

He gently shook Cooper awake and let him know he was going to check-in at reception. It wasn't the most appealing establishment, but as long as they could have a room and a couple of beds they would be happy enough.

Burt paid and collected their key, steadfastly ignoring the raised eyebrow and sleazy grin when he asked for a room for two men and a teenaged boy, and made his way back to the car. He found a concerned-looking Cooper trying to wake Blaine.

He was stroking his hair gently and whispering his name to no effect. He leant forwards to shake Blaine's shoulder lightly.

'Come on Blaine, you gotta get up,' he said a little louder, frowning when yet again he received no response, and shook him more vigorously.

He looked up at Burt, panic evident on his face.

'Burt, he won't…'

'It's ok,' Burt said, despite the awful feeling that flooded his chest and hurriedly flung the car door open, crouching down to peer into the dark.

He reached forward to rest his hand against Blaine's cheek, sighing in relief at the puff of warm air he felt against his fingers.

'It's ok, he's…'

'Whaaa..?'

'Oh, thank God,' Cooper exhaled as Blaine raised his sleep-mussed head ever so slightly, looking around in confusion.

'Wha…where…?'

'It's okay, Squirt,' he said, brushing a stray curl back behind Blaine's ear. 'We're staying at a motel for the night, let you get some rest before we drive home.'

'Cooper?' Blaine frowned and shook his head, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. 'I don't…what?'

Cooper shared another concerned glance with Burt.

'We came to get you from the police station. Don't you remember?'

Blaine's eyebrows drew together in concentration.

'I'm not…I thought I was dreaming,' he whispered.

'Well no dreaming, Squirt. We're here to take you home. But first, we sleep.' He gestured towards the motel and slipped an arm around Blaine's waist to guide him out of the car.

'Come on, I'm far too old to be sitting out in a car all night.'

Blaine frowned slightly and didn't reply, but followed without complaint. He was quiet as they made their way to their room, still leaning slightly into Cooper's side. He paused in the doorway and looked up in confusion.

'Uh, they only had a single room left,' Burt said, eyeing the two boys somewhat nervously. 'I figured I'd just take the chair, if you boys wouldn't mind sharing. That okay, Blaine?'

Blaine looked between Burt and Cooper, then nodded silently, but shrugged off Cooper's arm and stepped away. He picked his bag up from where Burt had laid it at the foot of the bed, and perched on the edge hugging it tightly to his chest.

'Hey, what are you thinking?' Burt said, perching next to him on the bed.

'Just… I dunno, confused, I guess?' Everything's just…' he waved his hand in the air.

'Yeah, I get that,' Burt agreed, hugging him to his side. 'But everything's gonna be a lot more stable for you from now on, I promise. We'll go through it all tomorrow when you've had some sleep and are a bit more with it, but for now you can trust that you have us and you're safe.'

'Hmm,' Blaine hummed contentedly, leaning further into Burt's side.

'We've all been so worried about you, y'know?'

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…'

'Hey, hey,' Burt cut in. 'That's not what I meant. Just letting you know that we all care about you a lot and we want you safe. Not out on your own in the cold doing God-only-knows-what to get by. You gotta promise us you won't do that again, Blaine. You have any problems you can come to us, okay?'

'I thought…' Blaine said, then stopped, biting at his lip.

'Hey, I said you can talk to me and I meant it. About anything.'

'I thought you didn't want me,' he said quietly, swiping the back of his hand across his eyes. 'You… you let them take me and I thought...'

'Oh Blaine,' Burt said, turning him round so that they were face to face. 'We didn't want to let him take you away, we just didn't have any choice. He was going to call the police if we didn't, but we spent the whole time you were gone trying to see you and get you back.'

'Really?' Blaine said, with such hope in his voice that Burt just wanted to wrap him up in a hug and never let him go again.

'Blaine, you are family to us, okay? We love you and we will do everything we can to keep you safe and happy.'

He pulled Blaine against him and sighed deeply as he felt him cling tightly to his shirt.

They stayed that way until Burt's phone sprang to life in his pocket.

'That'll be Carole or Kurt,' he said with a smile, his hand giving one last protective sweep through Blaine's hair. 'You should get some sleep.' He gave one final hug, before leaving the room to take the call.

* * *

><p>'Is he there? What's he saying? Here, let me…'<p>

'It's ringing, Kurt,' Carole said with a laugh, dancing out of the way of his hands as he made a grab for the phone. 'Give it a min…Burt! Hi Sweetie.'

'_Man, it's good to hear your voice. How are you all?'_

'We're okay. Waiting on tenterhooks. One of us slightly less patiently than others,' she said with a pointed look to Kurt, who was determinedly waving his hands in front of her face, trying to get her attention.

'So, how did it all go?'

'_Yeah, about as well as we could have hoped for. They didn't have a problem letting him go with us and he actually seemed genuinely happy to see Cooper.'_

'Oh, that's such good news,' she said, giving a thumbs up to Kurt, who wilted down onto the sofa in his relief.

'_We've actually booked ourselves into a motel for the day. I don't think me or Cooper are up for the drive home just yet, and Blaine could really use the rest. That okay?'_

'Hmmm, oh of course, that makes sense. So when will you be back, do you think?'

'_Probably not till late this evening. Depends how long we all sleep for. Maybe 9 or 10?'_

'9 or 10? What me to leave some tea for you or will you stop off on the way?'

'What?' Kurt interrupted, suddenly sitting up straight, ears pricked. '9 or 10? In the evening? Why will it take so long? Is something wrong? Carole, what's happening? Why can't they come home now?'

'_Put the kid on the phone, for Christ's sake, before he gives himself an aneurysm.'_

Carole handed the phone over with a grin and a whispered, 'he's fine, Sweetie, relax.'

'Dad, what's going on? How is he? Is he hurt? Can I speak to him?'

'_Slow down, kiddo. Nothing's going on. We're staying over in a motel for a bit so we can all get some sleep, and we'll drive back in the afternoon. Blaine is fine, and he's unhurt. Burt I think you should probably wait till we're back tomorrow to speak to him.'_

'But Dad…'

'_No arguments. He's had a really long couple of days and he's still pretty out of his. He needs some time to speak to his brother and some rest. You'll see him this evening, it's not that long.'_

'Okay. Just…just tell him I missed him, okay?'

'_Will do. Now go get some sleep yourself. Don't think I can't tell you've been up all night too.'_

'Yeah, I think I might have overdone it on the caffeine.

'_You don't say.'_

'Here's Carole,' he said with a laugh. 'I love you, Dad. And thank you.'

* * *

><p>Cooper sent a quick message to his housemate to update him on the situation, before heading to the bathroom and splashing some water on his face.<p>

He didn't know why he was putting off going to bed. He was tired as hell and looked an absolute mess, but he just… he couldn't. He stood at the bathroom doorway and watched Blaine sleep. He was lying on his front, head turned to the side and arms reaching up to hug around his pillow. He looked so small, so fragile. He was terrified of hurting him.

'Why did you come back?'

Cooper froze. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't realised that Blaine was awake and looking straight at him

'You left me there. You didn't even like me so why would you come back?' He asked again, eyes so wide and open. He wasn't accusing, Cooper realised, he was just asking a simple, honest question.

Yet Cooper didn't know what to say. He'd known this question was coming, but that didn't make him any more prepared to answer it. He sighed deeply, and sat beside Blaine on the edge of the bed.

'I… I was a selfish kid, Blaine. It was never to do with you. I wanted to get away from Ohio, away from Mom and Dad, and I didn't stop to think about the people I was leaving behind.'

'About me…

'Yes, about you. And I regret that more than anything in my life, Squirt, I really do.'

'But you're back for good, now?' Blaine whispered. 'You left, but you're back. For good? Right?

He looked up at Cooper with such big, pleading eyes, and Cooper knew that he would do everything in his power to protect him.

'I'm back,' he said, pulling him into a tight hug, 'and I'm never leaving you alone again.'

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Cooper felt Blaine start to sag against him

'Come on, you should really get some sleep. We've got a long drive home tomorrow.'

Blaine drew back, eyes drawn together in confusion.

'H…home? You mean…?

'It took Cooper a moment to understand what he was saying.

'No, no… god no…not back to them, never back to them, okay?'

'Okay,' Blaine said, nodding his head, 'but where…?'

'Well, I… I mean, we …' he broke off, suddenly nervous. 'We were thinking, that…well, maybe… you could stay with me? At least for a bit. See how you like it? Is that… would that be okay?'

'Could I still see Kurt and Burt and…?'

'Of course, Blaine. It would be nothing like before, I promise.'

Blaine looked down, hands playing with a loose thread on the bedspread.

'I think…I'd like that,' he said quietly, looking up shyly beneath his lashes.

'I'd like it too, Squirt,' he said, a wide grin splitting his face. 'Come on, back to sleep.'

'I…I don't like sleeping,' Blaine murmured, so quietly that Cooper had to lean a little closer to hear. 'I get nightma…' He froze suddenly, then pulled away, fast. He looked at Cooper, shocked, like a dear in the headlights.

'I… I…'

'Hey, what's wrong?' Cooper said, reaching out for him, but stopping short when Blaine flinched away.

'It's nothing, I'm fine,' Blaine said, jaw clenched, fingers coming up to rub over his collar-bone.

And all of a sudden, Cooper knew what was wrong, what had changed Blaine's demeanour so suddenly. This was the first time since their reunion that either had acknowledged that had actually happened to set all of this in motion. They had been so focused on their parents, but had not even touched on what else had happened, what Blaine was dealing with.

'Hey, look it's okay. I… I know, okay? Burt told me… what happened. What that man did to you..'

At Blaine's crestfallen expression he reached out to grasp his face between his hands.

'It changes nothing, Blaine. I love you and I came back for you and I'm not going anywhere. You never have to hide anything from me. You don't have anything to be ashamed of. In fact, I am so, so proud of you.'

Blaine reluctantly lay back down, but closed his eyes as Cooper began to stroke gently through his hair.

* * *

><p>'He's asleep. For now anyway,' Cooper said, as he joined Burt, leaning against the railings outside their room. 'I thought we were supposed to be getting some sleep too.'<p>

'I don't even think I could sleep if I tried,' Burt said. 'I'm getting pretty used to running on empty these days anyway, to be honest.'

'You should look after yourself. At your…' He stopped in his tracks as Burt turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

'Go on, say it, I dare ya. Say it and see what happens, kid.'

Cooper clamped his lips tightly shut and shook his head.

'Wise choice.'

They stood in silence, looking out across the street until Cooper finally voiced what had been troubling him.

'I just don't understand. Why doesn't he hate me?'

'I don't know,' Burt sighed. 'I guess we all see things differently.'

'But I was so awful to him, and he just… It's like he barely even remembers.'

'You gotta remember, kid, your parents have treated him pretty awfully over the years. Add to that the bullying and the bashing; his self-confidence must be through the floor, and he'll latch onto anyone that shows him the slightest affection. I think that's partly how he got into that awful situation with that man in the first place. You may not have been a great brother in the past, but for a long time I'm guessing you were the best he had.'

'God, that's so wrong. This is all just so wrong.'

'Yeah, well at least we've got the chance to make it right again. You're doing a real good thing here, Cooper. He's lucky to have you. I mean it,' he said, as Cooper scoffed and shook his head. 'You've got your own life and you're putting it in the back-burner to help out somebody else. Not a lot of people would do that, especially not at your age.'

'Thanks, Burt. It means a lot to hear you say that.'

* * *

><p>Blaine leaned against the window. His head was pounding and the cool glass against his forehead cut through the heat and pressure he could feel building behind his eyes.<p>

He could see Burt's concerned gaze constantly flicking onto him in the mirror and could almost feel Cooper's hand twitching by his side, eager to reach over and touch him in some way, but he shrank further against the door instead.

He knew he was being childish, but something in him almost relished the confusion and uncertainty he was putting Cooper through with his distance. When he first saw Cooper at the police station he'd been so out of it, still half-asleep and under the power of those stupid pills he'd taken that he'd felt he was in some sort of dream land. It had been like being 4 years old and handed his favourite teddy-bear, something to latch on to, to help chase the monsters away.

In the cold light or day, or more accurately, the muted light of early evening, he just had a skull-splitting hangover and a brother who'd never cared one ounce for him trying too hard to pretend it was all okay.

The journey passed in much the same way. Blaine sat silently, only nibbling at a sandwich when they stopped for a mid-way break, and before he knew it, they were pulling up outside the Hummel house.

He sat straight up.

'But… I thought I was going to yours,' he said, looking at Cooper. 'Won't mom and dad take me back if they find out I'm here?'

'Yeah, in the long run. But I need to sort a few things out first, find a new place to rent. We should be okay here for a little bit.'

'Oh, okay.'

'That alright, Blaine?' Burt asked. 'Do you not want to stay here?'

'No, no of course not, I just…' He took a deep breath, looking up at the front door.

' 'Cause I can think of someone who's awful eager to see you inside.'

'Yeah,' he said, looking back down at his hands. He climbed out of the car and walked slowly towards the house. He scratched absentmindedly over the scab on his neck. The last time he'd seen Kurt he had all but ignored him, then screamed at him to get out. The time before that he had kissed him. He didn't know what to expect; from Kurt, from himself.

He reached the front door and took a moment to prepare himself. Just as he was reaching up to ring the bell, the door flew open and he was almost knocked to the floor.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What are people's opinions on the telephone convo? Usually I opt to do them one-sided, so you can't hear what the person on the other end of the line is saying, 'cause that's more realistic, as if you're watching the scene unfold, but this one just sort of wrote itself like that. Did it work?<strong>


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